Equestrian Warfare: Earned in Blood
by BlazingAngel44
Summary: The war in Equestria is almost over and the Equestrian squad has survive the nightmare of the Highland. Everything seems to be at close when everything they have known ceased to exist. They have one more battle to fight and they'll be walking into hell before they know it. The only way out of hell, is through it. Click here to see the final part of the Equestrian Warfare series.
1. Previously in My Little Pony

**Previously in**

 **My Little Pony**

Before the flashbacks, a number 13 appeared on a helmet.

Voice- _**There's always a saying about every soldier who have a family with every choice they have to make to survive.**_

Wearing that number 13 is Lieutenant Red as he lifted up his helmet face-ward, his face visible by the flaming around him during the assault on Hell's Highway.

 _ **I keep telling myself; Why I'm here? Why I'm leading a squad that I don't want to lead? Sometime, only time could tell. Along with memories that I can't forget.**_

 **Saint Come-du-Mont**

 **June 8**

 **0830 hours**

Fluttershy kneel in the middle of a road, crying with the bodies of Allen and Garnett on either side of her.

"I'm so sorry." She sobbed as Red approached her with pain showing on his face.

He kneels in front of her and whispered, "Fluttershy… What happened?"

 _ **The answer is always the same.**_

 **Uden**

 **September 21**

 **1940 hours**

There is Red, putting Applejack back against the side of a jeep as Applejack said to him, "You better tell the other, or I will."

She pushes him off and before she could leave, muttered, "It your choice." Then left, leaving Red to decide.

 _ **Too many things had happened at the Highland.**_

 **Eindhoven**

 **September 18**

 **2038 hours**

Red walks up the flight of stairs when he fined Angel clutching his bloody chest as he says his final word before he died.

 _ **This is not where I wanted to be, but I have no choice.**_

After the hallucination, Red sat up under the swinging bomb that was hanging above him from the skylight.

 _ **Whenever I asked that I don't want to take this anymore, its just kept on repeating and it won't stop. Why this always happened to me?**_

At Ponyville, Red hold out his pistol, looking at the side as if deciding on what to do with it.

 _ **Some much had happened, and we're about to finish its ends.**_

 **Equestrian Warfare**

 **AN: That the end of this back-story stuff for the third and final part of the Equestrian Warfare series. If you haven't read the first and second part, I recommend you do so that way you know what going on so far.**

 **As you read along, there will be some part from the** _Band of Brothers_ **miniseries in this so I'm just going to say I don't own it and including** _My Little Pony_ **.**

 **I hope you enjoy this and see you on the other side!**


	2. Divergence

_DIVERGENCE_

Date: Unknown

Location: Unknown

Coming out of the gray sky, a snowflake was appeared to be falling toward the ground, it design artwork is beautifully crafted as it rested on top of a log. Then, it was blew away by a wind as it carried across a clearing where it shows a group of ponies in a middle of a firefight, trying to make their way back into the forest where it will provide them protection from the Moratins.

Raising himself off the ground, Red was yelling across the battlefield for his squad to move as he was taking fire from the Moratins across the clearing.

"Fall back!" he yelled loudly enough to be hear above the roar of the gunfire, "Get back to the tree line!"

Bullets and artillery rounds continue to fly overhead as the squad raced back to the tree line, jump behind some logs as cover and pour fire at the Moratins who are only about half a football field away form them.

Then, while Red is giving out orders and pointing at the enemy positions, the Moratins send in smoke mortars that when it landed on impact, smoke come out and cover the whole area.

The whole tree line is bellowed in smoke and Red couldn't see enemy and his squad members.

Confused by gunfire all around him, he raced to his right and soon got out of the smoke.

As soon as he got out, he suddenly realized he is not in the right part of the forest anymore.

"Guys? Twilight? Where are you?" he yelled out, hoping to find his squad.

Instead, he heard a tank engine rumbling right behind him as he stepped into a clearing.

He slowly turn around as his eyes reflected on a King Tiger tank coming out of the tree line, somehow alone as it front machine gun turret fire onto Red.

Bullets kicked up dirt around Red as he make a run for it back to the tree line when a bullet went through one of his hind leg.

He screams in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his leg.

Red roll on his back, facing the sky as he saw the tank slowly move toward him, it tank track crushing everything on it path.

When it is about a meter from him, Red close his eyes and felt an explosion in front of him then everything flashes to white…

4 days earlier

Snow shook from the rumbling of artillery fires from the distance to the ground as trees all over the whole Crystal Mountain prepare to settle in the region coldest winter ever recorded in Equestria.

Further on next to the road, beam of truck headlights shine through as a convoy, carrying the whole 101st Airborne Division, make their way north to stop the breakthrough cause by the Moratins earlier.

On the row of trucks, many paratroopers is under-equipped, including low on ammunitions and weapons and many of them don't have any winter clothes because they didn't know they'll be fighting in a cold environment.

Riding in one of the trucks, the Equestrian squad [3rd squad] was sitting in silence as one of them, Marsh, said, "Any ideas on how bad this breakthrough is?"

Across from him is Twilight who answered him, "So far that I know of, the Moratins seem to have a very strong force that they managed to break through our defenses and were taking vital towns and villages all over the Crystal Mountain."

"Oh yeah? Well who the hillbilly that are going to stop them?" said Applejack, shifting her .30 light machine gun to her side.

"Why us, of course," Rarity said next to her, "It doesn't seem that the army had any chances to use their resources to stop this awful mess."

"Then why we have to do and stop them?" Applejack questions her, "We're suppose to rest and recover from the Highland and now we're back in the fight without even sending a message?"

Everyone in the truck were beginning to argue when Twilight calm them down with a reassuring voice, "Now, now. I know it kind of frustrating for us but I'm sure we can fight this one out like we normally did."

"You mean, trying to survive from the cursed pistol that almost got us all kill?" Rainbow Dash challenges her, bringing back the old topic of the Death Pistol.

Everyone look at Red who is sitting near the opening of the truck, who seems to be ignoring them.

Moment later, the truck came to a halt, leaving the ponies inside wondering why they had stopped.

Then, a quartermaster went from truck to truck ordering everyone to get out and proceed toward the frontline on foot.

The squad got out and went half a mile when they are within an outskirt of a town they are assigned to defend.

When they walk toward it, on the road they're on is a long line of ponies walking in the opposite direction from the town.

"That can't be good." Friar mumbles to himself as they stop next to the line.

"Where are they going?" Pinkie asked those around her who were having the same question in their mind, "Shouldn't the fighting be that way?"

Wanting to know the answer, Applejack walk up to a big stallion wearing a hoodie and begin asking him, "Hey, hey!" she stop him on his track and turn him to face him.

When she turned him around, she gasp in horror on whom she just stopped.

It's her big brother Macnoish.

"Big Mac?" Applejack asked in confusion, "Big Mac, it me! Applejack!"

She looks into her brother eyes that are in a blank state then Big Mac blink and look down at his sister. "Applejack?" he whispered in amazement, "Applejack? Is it really you?"

"Yes!" Applejack exclaimed, happy that her brother finally recognize her, "Big Mac, where are ya'll heading to? What's going on here?"

Big Mac stared at her for a moment before replying with fear in his voice, "You can't be here. Ya'll got to get outa here!"

Applejack shook her head in confusion before repeating, "Wait, what? What's going on here, Big Mac?"

"They're coming," Big Mac gasped, stepping away from his sister like she's the enemy.

"Who's coming?" Rainbow said, stepping up next to Applejack.

"They're coming, you gota get outa here! They'll kill you before you know what hit you!" Big Mac said again then turns to join the line.

"Big Mac, wait!" Applejack pleaded and, before she could get her brother, Rainbow put her hoof on her shoulder and said, "AJ, let him go. He not what he is anymore. He's gone."

"No," says Applejack with tears in her eyes, "I know he's there. I just know it."

Along the line, many shocked and wide-eye soldiers were telling the newcomers to get away from the battlefield like; "Get the hell out of here!" or "They will kill you!" or even "Please don't go up there."

Not wishing to see his comrades cowardly running away, Jasper went up to a pony and begin taking his ammo and grenades.

Soon, all the other ponies were doing the same thing, stripping the retreating ponies everything they'll need for the upcoming fight; guns, ammo, grenades, explosives, shovels, winter gears, boots, personal equipments and rations.

Next to them, a jeep full of ammo boxes pulled up and a lieutenant driving it yelled out, "Get your ammo over here!"

Paratroopers started to flock around the jeep, grabbing as much ammo and grenades as they could carry and walk on toward the town.

After refurnishing his ammo supplies, Red asked the lieutenant what going on.

"The Moratins caught us off really bad," says the lieutenant, whom name is Keys, as he handed out the last ammo boxes, "We got no choice but to retreat. Now, I hope you fellas can gives out one hell of a fight to those bastards and avenge our fallen brothers."

Keys wishes him luck then drive down the road, disappearing from sight.

Red thought for a moment then went toward the town that they've been assigned to.

Along the way, they passed the town sign marked, "Bastogne."

"Bastogne?" LaRoach asked after reading the sign, "What kind of town is that?"

"It the town that houses hell." Jasper said to him.

So far that everyone knew; they'll will be walking straight into a siege that they have to hold off for the next eight days.

 **AN: When I first wrote this, I was trying to make this dramatic scene on how the paratroopers approach Bastogne, but usually I thought, "Why can't I just take that scene from the** _Band of Brothers_ **when they walk into Bastogne?" The soldiers that were retreating took the bulk of the attack when they breakthrough started and had see hell before their eyes. Just to make this straight, this whole chapter and the one after it suppose to be similar to the Battle of the Bulge. It likes the other parts; Part 1 is suppose to be the breakout of the Canterlot region, like the breakout of Normandy in WWII. Part 2 which is the Highland is suppose to be like Operation Market Garden.**

 **Yes, I'm a huge WWII buffer so don't question my logic.**

 **Anyway, I think that all for today.**

 **I guess I'll see you on the other side.**


	3. Bastogne

Chapter 24

 _BASTOGNE_

December 17

0500 hours

After they received their briefing about their objectives, 2nd platoon went to the north of Bastogne to a town called Noville where it lays in ruin from a heavy battle days earlier.

Walking down a road that led into town, the platoon was filed into two columns as they enter the town outskirt.

In the middle of the column, Marsh called out, "This place look nothing but shit." While looking at the smoldering buildings.

Snow are falling from the gray-covered sky as Pinkie exclaimed, "It seem very sad. I wonder what happened here."

Moment later, when they reaches the town square, a burst of machine gun fire cut down a couple of ponies, thus scattering the platoon as they took cover.

Twilight ran and took cover behind a building beside Rainbow and Applejack and yelled, "Where is that coming from?"

"I think it coming from our right!" Rainbow yelled back, peeking around the corner. "I can't even see where they're at."

Then, another machine gun opened up, turning the town squad into a killing field.

From the other side of the square, Red gallop behind covers and ran toward an alley where Ace is at.

He reaches there and said to Ace, "There must be at least 20 to 50 Moratins shooting at us. I don't think we'll be able to move if we're getting our asses kicked."

When he said this, the ground shook from explosions when at least three Moratins appeared in the square, blasting everything in sight.

"What the fuck!" Ace swore after seeing the tanks, "They're using fucking tanks and all we got is a fucking peashooter."

Peter gallop and stop next to Red, gasping, "They're using fucking tanks and all we got is a fucking peashooter!"

"No shit!" Red said after that.

Another explosion rocked the ground, showering debris on the ponies.

"Look like we got nothing but to fall back!" Ace barked then ordered everyone within earshot to retreat back up the road.

Rainbow called in smoke rounds from the mortar teams not far from them.

Smoke was now starting to cover the Allied retreat as they make their way back to Bastogne.

While retreating, Ace did a headcount and discovered that eight ponies are missing then went to help Fluttershy carried the wounded out of there.

It was now afternoon and the platoon are now positions in a small strip of wood north of Bastogne called Broquise Junction.

After their defeat at Noville and the discovery on how strong the enemy forces is, the whole company, as well as the rest of the division, were push back all the way to just a few miles to Bastogne and every units were ordered to step up defensive positions whenever they can to stop the advancing Moratins from reaching Bastogne.

After making log emplacements, slit trenches and foxholes on the cold harden ground all over Broquise Junction, E Company settle down for a rest while waiting for the expected attacks to come.

Camping inside one of the log emplacement, Pinkie lays out some ammo boxes for her machine gun then asked Applejack next to her, "You know, I didn't realize we're going to be sent out here to this cold cramping place and actually stay out here for a week with no party!"

"Now you've notice?" says Applejack, setting up a bipod on the opening of the emplacement for her .30 cal. "We've only been out here for like 12 hours."

Pinkie took out a piece of gum and popped it into her mouth, tasting the flavor before replying, "You know what they say, "No party, no fun, no nothing."

"I'm pretty sure they say, "No food, no water, no nothing." Applejack corrected her, "And we do have food. We do have water and we do have something that doesn't have to do with chemical warfare so I'm sure we'll be fine for the next couple of days."

"Days?!" Pinkie exclaimed by rushing over to Applejack and squish her cheek together, "We if we're in a siege, huh? What if we got stuck here for at least a considerable amount of time, say at least, eight days like the theme said and we have to rely on our toys so we could survive and be what who we really are. And also stay with the people that we know of."

"And who that people might be?" Applejack curiously asked.

Pinkie turns around, put her hoof on her chest like she at attention before shouting, "Canadian!"

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, whatever you say so." Says Applejack, rolling her eyes before turning back to continue setting up her machine gun.

When they set up their position, Red came by the opening and asked them if everything is alright.

"We're fine." Says Applejack, turning to look at Red. "Just having a normal talk with Pinkie."

Red nodded. "Okay, just checking." Then walk out to check with other ponies.

After he left, Applejack smiled a bit when Pinkie asked her with a curious look, "You're just being sarcastic, are you?"

"What make you say that?" Applejack asked, sliding the gun bolt back a couple of time to see the receiver is still operational. "I got nothing to hide. You're just saying that to make me look nervous."

Pinkie thought for a moment then suggested, "You still going for the pistol?"

"Yep."

"That settles it."

When he left the emplacement, Red went over to where Rainbow and Rarity at, digging foxholes even though their shovels keep clacking against the solid harden ground, impossible to even make a slightest hole.

"I can't take this anymore!" Rainbow angrily said, throwing down her shovel, "the stupid ground is making this too hard to dig. We haven't even dug up an inch."

"Rainbow, darling," says Rarity, stopping what she's doing, "don't fret yourself too much. The ground is not going to magically make a hole for you."

"Oh, yeah?" Rainbow challenge her by crossing her arms, "Well, I don't see you working! All you ever done is just playing around with the dirt!"

"That's absurd. We all come to agree that I have been working hard than you did!" Rarity complain, putting down her shovel and walk over to Rainbow.

Before they could say anything, Red stepped in between them and exclaimed, "Girls! Why don't you do what Jasper's do? He got his done a lot faster than you two."

"You mean, blowing holes on the ground with C-4s?" Rainbow said, turning away, "I'm good."

Behind them, Jasper is busy planting C-4s in a hole that he was trying to turn into a proper foxhole for him.

While he is connecting the wire together, Twilight ran over to him, tap him on the shoulder and said, "Uh, Jasper? Don't you think it a good idea if we save all of the explosives instead of blowing holes on the ground?"

Jasper stopped on what he's doing, look up to face Twilight before replying, "Nope." Then back down to the wire.

This make Twilight frustrated as she said to him, "Don't you know that we don't have any ammunitions left to stop a heavy attack that might be heading this way?"

"Nope." Says Jasper without looking up.

Not far from them, LaRoach, Spike and Marsh are sitting in their foxhole, specially made by Jasper, as they take a sip from their morning coffees.

"You know," says Spike, shifting his body to a comfortable position, "Why this town is so important to the Moratin anyway? Could they just…bypass us."

"Well, let me think," LaRoach explain, getting up, "Bastogne is a communication and transportation center. It is the only gateway to get in and out of these damn mountains."

"And," Marsh added, "If Bastogne fall to the enemy hand, then they'll push us back and we have to start all over again." He took a sip from his cup of coffee before saying, "You know what they say, 'No food, no water, no nothing'."

"I'm pretty sure they said, "No party, no fun, no nothing'." LaRoach reminded him, looking back down at the cold ground for comfort.

"That why we have Pinkie Pie." Says Spike as he attempt to get out of his foxhole to go to where Pinkie and Applejack are at.

Meanwhile, down the tree line, Rarity and Friar are cutting down some trees to make a log emplacement when three ponies from Ace squad walk over to them to see what they're doing.

Rarity saw them first when one of them said to her, "Need some help?"

Without hesitating to speak, Rarity quickly said yes.

When they start to cut the trees down, Rarity took a step back then spoke out, "My, my, I'd never known there will be some many helpers in this army."

"You'll never know." The mare said from a foxhole.

Then, a stallion that spoke to Rarity first introduce himself and the two other ponies, "My name is Alvin. That one there is David and the one in the hole is Kathy. We're from first squad."

"Oh," Rarity begin, brushing her mane back into a ponytail, "I am Rarity and that gentlecolt right there is Friar. We're from third squad."

"I know you guys came from the 501st and got transferred here after the Highland," says Alvin, putting down his ax to look at Rarity, "So we thought we talk to you while we still got the chance."

"How about you, big fella?" David said to Friar, "What your side of the story?"

Before Friar could say anything, Rarity spoke for him, "Friar rarely talks. He joins the squad after the Canterlot campaign. In fact, it seem like he doesn't want anyone to know what in his mind."

Friar gave Rarity a look then went back to cut the trees.

Further back from the frontline, Rainbow is with Discord and Fluttershy, helping them move some medical box from Venda to a foxhole that will serve for Fluttershy.

"Well, that the last of it." Says Rainbow, putting down a box then begin to dust off snows that fell on her jacket. "Is there anything else that you need help on?"

Fluttershy looks around a bit then give a slight smile, "No, I think that all for now."

When they walk toward the frontline, Discord said to Fluttershy with excitement, "Ooo, when can we have another one of your famous tea party, my dear Fluttershy? I can often give you me help if you don't mind?"

Just when Fluttershy was about to say something, Rainbow exclaimed, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're not asking to be on her team again, are you?"

"I'm most certainly not." Says Discord. He stops on his track so he could look at Rainbow as he said again, "I've been put on your team, remember? You're supposed to keep track of me."

"Yeah well, if you want to be stupid, go stupid somewhere else." Rainbow snapped back, causing Fluttershy to winch next to her.

As soon as Rainbow said this, the sky above was replaced by a tidal shock wave then a flash, causing everyone on the ground to cover their eyes.

"What's going on?" Rainbow yelled as soon as the flash is over.

Then, the ground in front of them exploded.

"Mortar!" someone screamed then the mortar barrage begins.

Debris and pieces of woods were flying all over the place as Discord, Rainbow and Fluttershy hit the dirt then got up to quickly find covers for protection.

They found a foxhole that is right behind Pinkie and Applejack emplacement and jump into it, hanging on to their helmets and weapons.

Moment later, the barrage soon lifted, leaving behind the forest in a huge mess. Trees blown apart and craters everywhere and the sound of the wounded crying for help also filled the air.

"Everypony alright?" Rainbow called out in her hole.

"If you can get off my finger." Says Discord, winching from the pain on his finger that is getting crush by the weight from the bottom of Rainbow combat boot.

"Oh, sorry." Rainbow says, removing her hoof then getting out of the foxhole.

When she got out, another explosion occurred, this time a tank round. Out in the clearing in front of them are a huge number of Moratin tanks and infantry units closing in on them.

"Here they come!" Rainbow shouted as she got into a trench and prepared herself for the expected attack.

Everyone in the forest got themselves together and prepared themselves for the worse.

All the medics were sent to the rear of the frontline, bringing out the wounded that were caught during the barrage.

In one of the trenches, Spike glance at the Moratin then slide down to the bottom of the trench with a grim look on his face.

Marsh notices this and said to him, "What the matter, Spike? It's just another attack, that all."

"Yeah, but I'm used to seeing this numbers of ponies that are trying to kill us." Spike replied, clutching to his M-9 pistol. "I'm not used to this anymore. I just can't take this!"

He was about to cry when Marsh says with a comforting voice, "Hey, soldiers don't cry. I'm pretty sure we'll make it out of this together. You'll see it for yourself."

Then, someone yelled, "Let's them have it!"

The whole line erupted into gunfire, bullets whizzed around like angry hornets.

The Moratin foot soldiers fall one-by-one as they took cover behind their tanks.

Picking up his bazooka, Jasper aims it at one of the tanks and fire, immobilizing it by destroying the tank treads.

Jasper put down his gun then notice for the first time that Friar is not with him.

He turns to face Marsh and yelled at him, "Where the hell is Friar!"

"He's with Rarity! I think they're down the line with first squad!" Marsh yelled back, jamming a magazine into his SCAR-L and continue to fire.

"Then, who the hell that are going to keep me loaded!" Jasper asked in an angry voice, frustrated that his assistant gunner is missing.

In the log emplacement, Applejack is firing her .30 cal when Red came by and shouted at her, "Save your ammo! We don't have a lot to continue to hold them off."

Outside the emplacement, the world shook in violent as Allied artilleries pounded the field, destroying the some of the Moratins and making the rest retreat.

When the battle is over, the Allied ponies' cheers then work to get the bodies of the wounded and the dead back into Bastogne, while the rest straightens out their defenses for future attacks.

Red walks down the line, passing Jasper who is yelling at Friar for ditching him when Friar and Rarity returned.

Red continues walking when he spotted Twilight talking to Peter near a ridge.

Red decided to go over to them and when he did, Peter spotted him coming then said something to Twilight, who stop talking and turn to face Red.

"What's going on?" Red asked once he reaches them.

"Oh, nothing." Twilight said in a nervous voice. "Just checking in with Peter, that's all." She gives a weak laugh and smile.

Red gives her a suspicious look then replied, "You know Twilight, we don't do that when we're hiding something in a middle of a war."

"Is that your concern?" Peter asked, stepping in to take Twilight place "Is it for you to know about our business?"

Red raise an eyebrow then said to him, "What? What the matter with you? Haven't you had enough of this rivalry between you and me?"

Before the argument could go any further, Ace gallop to them and exclaimed, "Alright enough talk. I got news for you all that is directly from the high command in Bastogne so listen up. I want every squad to consume their ammunitions to the last and keep an eye out in the area around us. There have been some changes that we have to follow."

"Wait a minute, what's going on?" Twilight asked, confused.

Ace sighed then explains the situation, "The Moratin had decided to change their game from now on. If they can't take this town from us, they'll bypass us, surround us and put us into a siege. And that is happening right now. They'll be cutting off the only road we have that we use to communicate with the outside world."

"Wow, all that in one day." Peter said, impressed.

"What about our radio? Maybe we could call some help?" Red suggested.

Ace shook his head before replying, "We can't. Remember that flash that we saw an hour ago? That was an EMP. They'd fry the hell out of our electronics and jammed our signal. Not only that, the Moratin forces is so damn strong, they'd push our forces way back so now we're going to be in the middle of the enemy territory."

Right when he said this, they heard a scream and saw Rarity crying as she gallop toward them.

"Rarity, what's wrong?" Twilight asked when Rarity reaches them.

"It's my horn!" Rarity cried. "I can't do magic anymore. Not even the slightest. See?" she took off her helmet by using her hoof, showing her horn then she grunted to get her magic working.

Nothing happened.

"Why won't it work?" Rarity continues to cry as Twilight calm her down and said to her, "There, there. I'm sure we can figure something out."

"Say what?!" Rarity said, alarmed. "Don't you have a slightest idea of how precious my magic can be? What do you have to say about your?"

Twilight gives her a look and, before she could say anything, Rarity quickly said again as she remembered something, "Oh wait. You lost your horn back at the Canterlot region. Oh, such a shame. I often wondered how all the other unicorns felt about this."

"I'm pretty sure Discord will say something about this."

Then, there was another scream.

Discord appears running toward them, snapping his finger repeatedly as Fluttershy and Rainbow trail behind him.

"Discord, what happened? Is everything alright?" Twilight asked when the trio reaches them.

"I can't my magic anymore!" Discord screamed while still snapping his finger.

"See? Oh, the horror! The horror!" Rarity added, draping her arm over her head.

"That got me into something." Says Twilight, tapping her chin, "Remember that EMP that we saw earlier? I'm betting it also took away our magic."

"Like a magic EMP!" Peter exclaimed.

"Exactly. It shut down our magic for I don't know a couple of weeks until it wear off?"

"So, we have no radio, no magic, no air support and none of the other divisions are nears us." Says Ace, shaking his head, "So we're screw."

"Not if we have each other and our dignity." Rainbow said proudly.

"At least you have guts." Says Ace, taking out a piece of paper and examine it. "That's all for now. We are going to be staying here for a while. Remember on what I said, save your ammo and only use it when the fun begins."

Ace then dismissed everyone and they all went back to their positions, wondering what is going to happen to them in the next couple of days.

For the rest of the days, they continue to get heavy shelling and more light counterattacks, on which they were able to repel each one.

When evening came, the temperature drops to about 20 degree, making each pony to bundle up in their blankets and on each other to keep warm.

Making a fire is out of option. Every time they tried to make one, they get heavy shelling on their position.

The lucky one that keeps themselves warm is Jasper, Marsh, Friar and LaRoach who are using Spike as a heat ventilator.

Everyone is getting the chill of their lives when they finally realized how far this war is getting into.

Sitting in his foxhole, Red got the feeling that the Moratin had cut off the only road that kept Bastogne alive. It's like a gate closing on the gateway to freedom.

Now it's gone.

Let's the siege of Bastogne begin.


	4. Frozen Hell

Chapter 25

 _FROZEN HELL_

December 18

Bastogne

0800 hours

Snow continue to fall from the gray sky and land on the forest below by the hundreds. The whole forest itself is literally covered by the whole blanket of snow, even the tress all around it.

Making such a crunching sound on the snow every time he took a step, a stallion wearing a large white overcoat, a gray coal helmet and gear, walk along the white forest slowly like he is walking to nowhere.

He stopped for a bit, his blue eyes scanning the partly destroyed forest that was covered with black craters then lift up one of his covered hoof and blow on it to keep warm.

After he did it with the other hoof, he continue to walk forward when suddenly, another stallion step right in front of him from behind a tree, making the blue-eye stallion to stop on his track.

The blue-eye stallion examines the stallion and notice that he is different from him; brown-eye, grayish mane, kakis jacket and webbing belt and a green helmet.

Both of the stallions continue to stare at each other in silence, their breaths frost in the crispy air.

The blue-eye stallion went wide eye when he realized that he encounter one of the American paratroopers then begin to back away from the trooper.

The paratrooper notice this then sling his rifle off his shoulder, yelling, "Halt!"

For the first time in his life, the blue-eye stallion was scared then turns to run back the way he came.

The paratrooper saw the stallion running away from him then aim his M1-Grand and fire, sending a bullet straight through the stallion hind leg and dropping him to the ground, screaming.

The stallion holds out his injured leg in pain when he heard another shot that will end his life.

After firing the second shot straight to the stallion head, the paratrooper leveled his rifle down then went to check the Moratin he just shot.

While walking over there, he heard a voice behind him called out, "Hey Howle! Did you get the bastard?"

Howle reaches the corpse and begin searching through it, first looking at the head and find that his shot went right through the skull. It was a well clean shot.

"Yep!" Howle called back behind him, "The bastard's dead alright."

He found a holster on the corpse hip so he unclip the holster and pull out a Luger.

Howle grinned when he sees this as he got up and turn to face two other paratroopers that are walking toward him.

Howle exclaimed as he waved the gun to them, "Pretty sweet huh?" he gives the pistol to one of the trooper, who look it over then handed it to his buddy who then handed it back to Howle with a remark, "Look pretty sweet to me."

Howle put the gun and put it in his satchel that is hanging over the side of his main body and said to the troopers, "I bet that the whole damn Moratin army is giving off these nice pistols to those that are going to get themselves killed."

One of the troopers shiver as he look at the body then mutter to himself, "Wonder why that sucker is all by himself."

Howle look at the body again before replying back, "He's probably a scout. Trying to probe our line. Why? Worried that he has a thing for you, Tom?"

Tom shook his head, "No, just wondering." He looks at his buddy next to him and said, "How long do you think the rest of his friends will think he dead Jack?"

"Maybe a couple hours or so if they could find his body." Jack said by scratching himself in the back of his head. "Depend on how cold this damn weather is."

They all couldn't be better more than to agree with it.

After their two campaign at the Canterlot region and the Highland, this is by far the worse they've ever experience so far.

They shiver at the same time when the wind picked up so Howle spoke up, "Let's head back to the line and get ourselves some coffee."

The other two nodded and follow Howle back to Bastogne, leaving the dead body there in the white forest.

* * *

Nothing like this morning could get any better for Jasper when he return to his foxhole after taking a piss [not sure how ponies did it] in a bush next to the ridge.

After he slide in next to Marsh in their foxhole, Marsh first look at Jasper and down at his leg then burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Jasper frown at Marsh who he got himself back together and said to him, "You peed yourself!" then laugh some more.

Jasper looks down at between his leg and notice the wetness on his pant. Jasper himself chuckle and said to Marsh, "Yeah. I was trying to take a piss and my penis got stuck on the zipper. I tried to get it off and the damn thing went down and pissed all over my fly."

Marsh stops laughing and look at him dead serious then smile and laugh some more, join by Jasper.

"What's going on?" LaRoach says as he slides in beside Marsh who told him, "Jas got his dick stuck on his pant and got himself pissed all over. Now look at him! He pant is now covered in shit."

LaRoach look at Jasper pant, shook his head and said to him, "You are the most dumbass person there ever was in this army."

They all laugh a bit when Rarity came by and said to them, "Can't you boys ever stop laughing out loud? You're trying to give away our positions."

Marsh pointed at Jasper and replied, "Well tells this guy to stop pissing on himself."

"Ew!" Rarity yelled in disgust then walk away from the foxhole, leaving the three stallions laughing their heads off.

As Rarity walks away from them, she went over and sat down on top of a foxhole next to Twilight, who is busy patting her clipped horn which she finds it so annoying and amused since she first got its shot off back at Carentan in the region.

She missed her magic since for now she have to use only her hooves to do things that she's not used to.

Rarity was anxious to ask Twilight a question that she's desired to ask, "Twilight dear, how do you feel not guilty when you can't use your magic for things that Earth and Pegasus ponies can do. Do you ever feel something strange like not feeling like a unicorn anymore?"

Twilight stop patting her horn so she could shift her gaze toward Rarity.

"No." she said, putting her helmet back on her head. "I don't find it strange for not using my magic anymore. I haven't felt like a unicorn since we've been using hands like these." She activated her robotic hands and held them up, then set them back down by deactivating them.

"I mean, there was a time when I had to use actual hands when I'm at the alternate universe. So no, I don't feel anything when it comes to the time like this."

"You do have an appetite of being yourself." Rarity said, gazing out at the field in front of her.

Twilight looks down at her foxhole as if she saw something, blink then said, "Do you think we should-,"

Before she could finish her sentence, the ground in front of them exploded into the air when another mortar barrage started up, this time with high-explosive rounds.

When the explosion began, Rarity and Twilight quickly jumps into the foxhole and held their heads down to the floor of their foxholes as best they can while the mortars overhead scream through the air and landed on the defenders below.

After what it seems like twenty minutes, the barrage lifted, leaving the defenders the freedom to look up from their foxholes and examine the crater-covered forest around them.

"Is everyone alright?" a pony called out as they got out of their foxholes to examine their positions and the field in front of them.

Walking as if the concussion got into him, Friar passed a couple of shattered trees into the other part of the forest when David approach to him, saying, "Hey, ya alright Friar? Those Moras had been sending in those knockers lately."

Friar stops and looks at the field. The Moratins had already shelled them for the fifth time that morning and won't seem to stop until their defenses have shatter. Or what they expect from it.

David notice Friar's gaze then exclaimed with a curious tone, "You rarely talk around us, don't ya?"

Friar look back at David then shrugged. Of course he hadn't spoken a single word to his teammates but only in combat when he needed to.

After a moment of silence, Alvin walks by and said to them, "Hey, you two! Help me find some heavy logs or trees fragments. We haven't got all day too-,"

His word was interrupted by heavy violent shaking of the ground.

Airbursts exploded all around them as the three hit the ground and scramble for cover.

This is by far the most heaviest shelling the defenders experience so far, mainly because the Moratins decided to use artillery instead of mortar.

Alvin and David both jump into a foxhole but unfortunately for Friar, the concussion from the artillery shells kept knocking him down.

Feeling dizzy, Friar stumbles toward Alvin and David who were yelling at him to take cover in their foxhole. Friar quickly found a foxhole next to their and jump into it, unaware of what going to happen the instant he'd jump into the foxhole.

The moment he'd jump into cover, a artillery round exploded dangerously close that it shatter debris onto him, forcing Friar to cover his face to the ground while the barrage exploded all around him.

Peeking from her foxhole from the other part of the forest, Fluttershy watch the world unfold around her when she heard a violent crack right behind her.

A tree next to her foxhole snapped in two from a concussion and fall on top of her foxhole, trapping her in.

Fluttershy receive scratches from the tree branches and scream for help.

Her cry for help was carried across the snow as an echo which Rainbow's ear twitches when she picked it up above the explosion.

"Fluttershy in trouble!" she screamed then struggle to get out of her foxhole she was in to rescue her friend. But she was dragged back in by Discord who said to her, "You can't!

He kept her down as the barrage continues on.

Fluttershy's cries not only was heard by Rainbow but by Kathy, who heard its before anyone else so she dash out of cover and rush toward the direction of the cries.

When she was about a couple feet from Fluttershy foxhole, an airburst exploded above her, covering her with snow and debris while knocking her to the ground.

Her face flashes from the explosion around her when she opened her eyes. Beside the artillery shells falling, snowflakes also fell from the sky, landing on Kathy when she first catch a glimpse on her hind legs and could see that both of her legs had been tore apart from her hip.

Bones could be seen sticking out of her body and pool of blood had started to from as Kathy lay her head back to the ground and mourn.

Moment later, another pony ran up, possibly heard the cries of Fluttershy and Kathy mourning, toward the two mares.

When he got to the side of Kathy, another airburst exploded above them, sending the pony toward the ground with both of his legs blown away.

The two ponies that were supposed to save the mare that got stuck in her foxhole by a tree got injured themselves, not knowing the risks of their personal safely.

Twenty minutes later, the barrage was finally lifted, the cries for medics filled the air as ponies from all over the forest rush to help those who got wounded from the barrage.

Sensing that the barrage had stopped, Rainbow quickly got out and ran toward where Fluttershy is.

Before she could reach her, she found Kathy and the pony next to her on the ground, bleeding profusely from their legs.

Rainbow stop so she could assist the wounded ponies, first calling for help then took out bandages to perform a tourniquet method to stop the bleeding.

She already stop the bleeding on Kathy left leg when a couple of ponies, mostly medics, and the rest of Rainbow's friends reach her and the other to help.

The medics took Kathy and the pony back to Bastogne while Rainbow, the rest of the Mane Six, Discord and Spike work together to get Fluttershy out from under the fallen tree.

"On the count of three," says Twilight as she grips the top of the tree trunk, "we'll lift this up from the foxhole then Rainbow and Rarity will get Fluttershy out of there. Understood?"

They all nodded then position themselves to lift the tree. When Twilight counted to three, they all lifted the tree up by a couple of inches and quickly, Rainbow grab one of Fluttershy's hoof while Rarity garb the other then they both drag her out of the foxhole.

As soon as they got her out, the other slowly drops the tree and took a sigh of relief.

Fluttershy got up and hug Rainbow. Rainbow hugs her back and was glad that her friend is safely backed in her arms.

When Friar noticed that the barrage had lifted, he got up to look around above the foxhole then got out to check Alvin and David foxhole next to his.

When he reaches their foxhole, he was not only shocked but was terrified at what he just discovered.

The foxhole that Alvin and David were in was nothing but a giant black crater. Inside it are just a piece of limb and a ragged blanket covered in soot.

So, Alvin and David foxhole took a direct hit and got blown away.

Friar realized that if he jumps into their foxhole, he could've been like them but luck had gotten into him, so he survives another day.

Without standing around and continue looking at the crater where his friends had once been, Friar turns around and walks away from the crater.

He went and walk past a stallion that is busy checking out a Luger that he'd gotten this morning.

"You know, one day, you are going to shoot yourself in the leg and get yourself kill." One of his buddies said to him with an expression on his face.

The stallion with the pistol look up and replied back with a smirk, "I won't. I am actually a weapon expert. I know how to carry these things."

The younger stallion rubbed his head and said to the one next to him, "Wait. When the hell did we have a weapon expert?"

After listening to their conversation, Friar shook his head, went over to his foxhole, slides down into it, closes his eyes and went into deep thought like he'd always been.

* * *

Next day later, December 19, there was an assembly called at the back of the forest.

Easy Company and other units in the area gathered around Major Horton who had come to deliver the news to them.

After much peep talks and the glare from Horton, the gathering went silence and listen as their XO took out a piece of paper and began, "As you all were wondering, the Moratins has caught us down real bad and cut off all our supplies lines, EMP's the hell out of out electronics and we have no air support because of this foul weather. Not only that, we are running low on most of our ammunitions. Now here, I got order from General McAuliffe saying right from Bastogne saying that we need to consume our ammunitions and make sure each and every one of us have a fighting spirit to keep the bastards right out is this town."

When he said this, there were a few number of ponies hooting and were smiling when Horton said the common term to their enemy.

Horton smiled back as he continue, "The fate of the Allies had now depend on us men and women, including Equestrian, of the 101st Airborne to keep this town alive. I'll say that you all will be doing this job and I expect each and every one of you to fight it out so we can mark ourselves as the Screaming Eagles. Let keep out morale high so we can make it this one out alive. That is all I'm going to say and this assembly can now be dismiss."

Everyone stood for the moment, letting the words to sink in, then turned back toward their positions.

None of them had even said a word because they all had a thought in mind on how long this siege is going to last.

The day has gone by so quickly and evening fells over the forest. The world had turned dark and the temperature has gotten to at least 20 degree, making the ponies to bundle up for the night.

Red was sitting in his foxhole, eyes close when all of the sudden, a shot rang out from the darkness.

Red quickly opens his eyes and jump out of his foxhole, his machine gun ready when he came across a stallion lying on the ground.

It was the same stallion who had a Luger that he gotten earlier and it appeared that he shot himself in the leg, Red can't be for sure.

The wounded stallion two buddies were on either side of him, trying to stop the bleeding from on his right leg.

"Fluttershy!" Red yelled and got to the stallion side and patted his leg to find the bullet hole.

He found it, his hoof pressed over it and warm blood prickle through his hoof and onto the ground, forming a black puddle. Since it was coming out profusely, Red guesses that the stallion main artery has been severed. They need to stop the bleeding or the stallion will die from blood loss.

Fluttershy finally rushed to their aid and begin looking for the wound.

"Come on man, stay with me. You're not going to die." Say one of the stallion friends, tapping him to keep him awake. "We're going to get you out of here."

They cannot use flashlights or other mean of light because if they do, it will give away their position and they will get shot or shell.

Trying to treat the wound in the dark is most likely zero percent of chance to save the stallion life.

After telling one of them to apply pressure on the wound, Fluttershy ejected a needle into the stallion arm to give him plasma, but only discover that the plasma bag is frozen.

"It stuck." She gasped then rubs into it to provide the heat to get it moving.

"Give it to me." Said Red, reaching for the bag and put it inside his jacket under his armpit. Despite the pain chilling cold from the bag, Red armpit actually got the warmth for the bag, which allows plasma liquid to freely move out of the bag through the tube and into the stallion body.

"What's his name?" Red asked the stallion buddies while shifting the bag for better warmth.

"His name is Howle."

Howle mourned then grasped one of his friends arm and mutter, "I'm sorry."

"No no no! Don't die on me!" one of his friends said through tears, trying to keep him awake.

Howle already close his eyes and drew his last breath, making the end of this turmoil.

Everyone stop on what they're doing and felt a spirit through them. The younger stallion next to his dead comrade had begun to cry softly while his buddy next to him bows his head. Beside them, Fluttershy also started crying, not been able to save a pony life and Red just sat there frozen.

They all sit there in silence and watch as the snows slowly land beside them.

* * *

On December 20, Applejack was in her log emplacement keeping watch on the field with her .30 cal machine gun. She is very tired because she hasn't got enough sleep last night. She was going to when she heard a single shot and thought it must been a start of another attack.

She later got word from Fluttershy that a stallion accidentally shot himself in the leg and died from blood loss. Applejack actually thought about it for a moment when she raised a question in her mind; who would shoot himself in the leg?

She thought of all the ponies who would be dumb enough to do it then her mind drifted to Red's pistol…

She shook that thought away when something catches the corner of her eyes.

She turns to it, gazing into the field when she saw something moved between the tress. She waited to aim and fire at the figure but decided against it because her order is to consume her ammunition and not to fire randomly at the front.

Okay, maybe she made the latter one of but still, she cannot fire unless it something that will link to the main attack.

Applejack watches the figure moved through her field of vision and disappear beyond the snow, leaving Applejack wondering if the figure is a Moratin scout, a straggler or some random animals that straying the area.

While she watches the figure slide away, she heard something behind her and whirls around to see Twilight coming through the emplacement entrance.

Applejack sighed with relief and turn back toward the field as Twilight stop next to her and join Applejack gaze into the field.

Right when Twilight opens her mouth to speak, the ground in front of them exploded as artillery rounds hit all around them.

After minutes of intense bombing, the shelling stopped, leaving the defenders dizzy with concussions and a Moratins infantry attack began.

When she saw the Moratins advancing toward them, Applejack got up and manned her machine gun, letting loose a long line of tracers bullets into the enemy ranks.

While firing, Twilight tapped her in the shoulder and yelled into her right ear, "Stop firing long bursts! We need to save ammo whenever we can!"

"Well, what else do you expect me to do? Throw rocks at them?" Applejack replied while reloading her gun. "Beside, there is nothing for me to do to stop them from overrunning us."

Outside the log emplacement in the trench next to it, the stallion who was there when Howle died the night before, took out his Luger, jump on top of the trench and fire at the advancing Moratins with uncontrollable rage.

His buddy next to him saw him and screamed, "Jack! Jack! Get back down!"

Jack didn't hear him. He was screaming the top of his lung at the Moratins, "Come on you cocksuckers! Kill me! KILL ME!"

He took a heavy caliber round in the head that make a small hole went it went in and left a huge hole when it went out. The back of the stallion head blew open when the round came out, leaving his brain exposed as he fell right back into the trench, landing next to his friend who eyes widen in terror.

He screamed his friend name and fired a loose volley at the Moratins.

Down the trench from him, Spike also saw the back of the stallion head exploded and felt sick about it. Why war has to be like this?

Spike never realized what he gotten into as he slide down to the bottom of the trench, covered his ears and shake his head like he doesn't want to take part of this anymore.

Above him, Marsh notice this and said to LaRoach next to him, "Spike is taking the beating again. Do you think we should send him to the rear so the princess will talk some senses into him?"

"Are ya kidding? Who's going to keep us warm while he's gone?"

"What are you talking about? He's a baby dragon! He shouldn't be up here in the first place and who the hell give a gun anyway?"

"People like us obviously." LaRoach grunted as the Moratins started to retreat.

After the assault is over, ponies is busy taking the dead and the wounded away form the front as Twilight make her way toward the rear. She was a young pony, mourning over the loss of his friend who back of the head exploded.

Twilight felt very sorry for him. She never wants any of her fellow soldiers to die but it happen so quickly. At one point, they'll be talking to you like the world will never harm them and the next thing you know, they're dead.

That the one thing that war is very good at; it can rip away friendship like it never existed, leaving you to feel the guilt and the horror over the one you lost.

While walking, Twilight spotted Ace, who is talking to a group of soldiers and walk toward him.

"Captain Ace?" she said once she reaches them. "I would like to have a word with you."

Ace finishes talking to the group of soldiers and turn to face Twilight. "What is it?"

Twilight thought for a moment, remembering on what she has to say and begin, "I would like 3rd squad to be pulled out of line."

Ace didn't say anything for a moment when he heard this then gather up his thought and replied back with dead eyes, "You're joking, right?"

"No, I'm not Captain." Twilight said by shaking her head side to side, "3rd squad have been fighting for a long time now than any other units so I'm asking you if we could be pull out of line for a while."

Ace look at her before replying, "With all due respect. Princess, I would like to take it as a no."

It was Twilight turn to be shock as she snapped back in a heartbeat, "But my team needed it. Don't we have any reserve left in Bastogne?"

"No, we don't. In fact, we just used up all of our reserve in the whole division and everyone out here is fighting to keep the Moratins out."

"But we need-," Twilight was going to say but Ace cut her off, "Listen to me Corporal, We don't have any men left and we have our order to stand ground and fight whatever we have to keep the enemy from taking this town. No one is leaving the line unless there have been a breakthrough of this siege, you got that?"

Twilight didn't say anything. She looks at the ground as Ace continues without cooling his temper down, "Now get out of my sight or I'll change my mind about having you in the front. A Princess shouldn't be fighting in a war."

Twilight look up at him in disgust and storm away from him, wondering why she even came here in the first place.

It was the magic of friendship that brought her here but it didn't warn her about getting cut off from the rest of Equestria in the middle of nowhere.

The day had passed by so quickly again that everyone had forgotten about the time of year. It winter obviously. The day is short and the night is very long.

Huddling in his foxhole to keep himself warm, Red was about to go to sleep when a branch snapped outside his foxhole.

He already knows who it is when a young stallion slides in next to him. It the same one that lost all of his friends earlier.

They stared at each other in silence when Red asked him what is he doing out of his foxhole.

"I don't know. I just couldn't sleep after what just happened earlier today."

"I know how that feels. Everyone suffered the same thing when they saw their buddies getting killed." Said Red, uncomfortable for saying such a thing to a kid who just saw the true horror of war.

He was about to apologize when the kid said, "I heard you went through the same thing and managed to get the stress out of your mind."

When he said this, Red felt Grim watching him from the darkness, sending chill down his spine.

Red was glad that the darkness covered the fear that he is showing on his face.

To get the fear to disappear and replace it with curiosity, Red looks at the kid and said to him, "It wasn't that easy. Time comes and goes when you are trying to clear to focus on the mission and your brothers-in-arms."

"But all of my brothers are dead." Say the kid, looking at the ground with a pained expression.

"What's you name?" Red curiously asked the kid.

"Thomas."

"So tell me Thomas, if you believe in fate, you don't have to carry on the life that you are living in. You just have to… move on and let it go."

"Not if I have this that got all of my brothers killed." Thomas holds up a Luger for Red to see, even through the darkness of the night.

Red looks at the Luger for a bit and took out his Colt .45 pistol for Thomas to see and said to him, "You'll never know what I have to do to get through with this pistol. Everyone in my squad believes it cursed."

"Why would they say that?" Thomas asked, shocked as he set his pistol down on his lap.

"Because every time someone uses this in combat, they ended up getting killed. I lost a lot of good men because of this. Even one of my close friends got killed holding this gun back at the region."

"It just that none of them knows how capable the gun could be. It handling, the firepower and the proper way to use it. Or that ended up using it at the wrong time."

"Exactly. That why I let no one to touch this gun. Not because the ways it was used but it's belong to me when I first got into this mess. My father gives it to me when I was little but I refused to take it because of my mother-side of nonmilitary. When I enlisted into the military, I took the gun and kept it beside me at all time, until I lost it this one time."

Thomas nodded and exclaimed, "Yeah. My dad told me the same thing but I lost it throughout this campaign. Damn thing was so hard to maintain." He held up the Luger again and said, "My friends are all dead so now I'm wondering what to do now."

"That's your choice. You could either keep going or end it all. It your choice."

After Red said this, Thomas look up at him and smiled. "Thank you sir, for opening that up to me."

He smiled and got out of the hole to walk back to where he came from.

Red thought about it for a moment and debate whether or not he's done the right thing.

Moment later, Red head turn to the sound of a gunshot that rang out from the direction of where the kid came from.

Red smiled a bit and thought to himself: His new friend can fly.

 **AN: The beginning does sound like the** _Band of Brothers_ **for the moment there but everything went downhill afterward. I'd tried so hard to introduce more characters but every time I did it, there get themselves killed. I'm pretty sure you all remembered the Canadian tanker Richardson. Don't worry, he'll came back soon once the ending of Bastogne is within reach.**

 **Anyway, it kinda hard to keep the story rolling and trying to keep it in place. The beginning of this chapter seem like everything was just thrown together for no reason. I have no idea if ponies can pee though, it just occurred to me to make it funny of Jasper. I guess that is all I want to say for now.**

 **Warning: In the next chapter, any characters that you've grown to like are very likely to die. I guess it is now the climax of this whole series.**

 **See you on the other side!**


	5. The Battered Bastards

Chapter 26

 _THE BATTERED BASTARDS_

December 21

Broquise Junction Forest

0638 hours

The wind picked up speed and sent a chill to Marsh's spine as he moved his body in his winter clothing while walking in the middle of an open forest, as well as four other ponies that are walking alongside with him to conduct a recon mission to test how far the enemy line is from Bastogne.

Major Horton brought up the idea of this recon mission and asked Ace to pick out a five-man team. Ace then asked Red in turn for this decision and Red selected Marsh, Rarity, LaRoach, Applejack and Pinkie for this mission.

Marsh personally thought this is the stupidest idea there ever is but decided to get used to it.

If he wants to stay alive and get out of this hellhole, he has to follow orders no matter how stupid it is.

Marsh stay close to his team when Rarity broke the silence that they'd carried after leaving their defenses, "How far do we have to go if we want to make any contact with the Moratins?"

"Probably pretty far." Says Pinkie with a gesture, "Plus, I ran out of cupcakes!"

"Oh for goodness sake! Stop finding these cupcakes!" Rarity said with a frown, "Where did you find them anyway?"

"You'll never know how much I have to go through to get them!" Pinkies smiled and laugh.

Applejack looks around a bit and those around her, "Hadn't anypony heard that shot last night?"

"Yeah, I did." Says LaRoach, "It's totally startling me. I couldn't sleep from it."

Pinkie explained to LaRoach by jumping in front of him, "That because a kid that lost all of his friends from a pistol talked to Red and then shot himself to end his stress."

"How the hell did you know that?" Marsh questions her.

"Because I know _everything!"_ Pinkie said in a very creepy voice with wide eyes that caused Marsh to stop walking and stared back in awe.

Pinkie smiled then happily bounces away singing.

Marsh stays there for a moment then exclaimed, "That was creepy."

Applejack said with a chuckle as she follow after Pinkie, "It because she got a Pinkie sense so she know what going on around her." Marsh and LaRoach looks at each other, shrugged then follow after them.

Moments later, they came upon a small clearing in the forest. The team stops to decide whether or not to continue forward.

Sensing no one want to move, Marsh sighed and step forward. "I'll go and check out the area." But he was stop by LaRoach who said to him, "Are you sure? Cuz I got a bad feeling about this."

Marsh pushes him aside a bit and replied back with a grim on his face. "Not me. I'm born ready to die for my country. You'll better cover me or I'll see you in hell!" then stepped into the clearing.

Humming the song, "O Canada" very softly, Marsh was about a few yards away from his team then quickly stops when he heard a soft click out in the distance out in front of him.

While watching Marsh stepping into the clearing, Pinkie tail twitched, her ears flap and her whole body shook as something major is going to happen.

Applejack saw this and said to her, "Pinkie, what is it?"

When Pinkie stops twitching, she looks out at Marsh and quickly cried out, "Marsh! Get down!"

But it was too late.

Before Marsh could hear Pinkie warning, the whole tree line in front of him erupted into gun flashes. Marsh froze and stand there in the middle of the clearing as bullets whizzed all around him and, as he turn toward his squad members who were taking cover behind a log on his left, a bullet punch through his neck, leaving a gaping hole.

Marsh fell to the ground and grabs his neck as if he was trying to keep the blood in.

He was gasping for air when LaRoach saw him and screams, "Marsh!" He ran toward his fallen brother to aid him but bullets was kicking around him rapidly, forcing LaRoach to take cover behind the log.

Marsh reaches out his right arm toward LaRoach as he continue to gasp for air and blood now started to steep from his neck into his arm.

Applejack and Pinkie set up their machine gun and return fire while Rarity attempted to keep LaRoach from reaching Marsh without the risks of getting shot.

LaRoach struggled from Rarity grip to hold him back as he continues to yell to Marsh, "It okay, man! It okay!" LaRoach directed Marsh's eyes to his. "Just look at me in the eye. Look at me! You're going to be okay! We'll get you out! Please just hang on!"

Marsh continues to reach out when the Moratins started to shell the area with mortars. Everything exploded around them, causing the team to fall back but not LaRoach, who insisted to stay with Marsh.

Rarity grabs him by the shirt and yelled at him, "LaRoach! We can't stay here! We need to get out of here now!"

LaRoach fought back by pushing her off him, "I can't leave him here! I need to get him out!"

"It's too late now! He's gone. We can't help him!"

LaRoach looks at Rarity with tears in his eyes and nodded. They both got up and retreated from the firefight, leaving their fallen comrade behind.

While they were heading back to their line, a stray bullet ended up finding LaRoach left shoulder and perched through it.

LaRoach fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder. Applejack reaches him and lifted him up over her back and carries him back to Bastogne with Pinkie and Rarity.

Another soldier life has been lost and he was the one that had been with them since the beginning of this war.

The news of Marsh death hit the squad very hard, especially Red who got the worse of it since he'd promise everyone before D-Day that he will get them home safely, but now men are getting killed under his command.

Nothing happened on the 21st. Many of the paratroopers were started in believe that the Moratins are tired of attacking them and decided to pull back. If they pull back, how can you explain Marsh's death? No one knows what is going on in the Moratins line.

The Moratins didn't attack them nor shell them for the rest of the day. This seems unusual.

For the next two days, the Moratins attacks increased by the number of troops and tanks as they attempted to break through the line, but were repulsed by the combine assault of the paratroopers and artilleries support from Bastogne. It seems that the Moratins are pissed off on something.

On the 24th of December, there was another assembly being called behind the frontline by Major Horton

As soon as everyone got together, Horton, who is on top of his jeep and he begin by clearing his throat;

"For all of you soldiers that are wondering why we're here in this gathering, I want to say that I am proud of each and every one of you for keeping the Moratins out. I know we have felt the lost of our brothers and sisters so I may share with you all that I have recently received a letter from the command in Bastogne."

He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a piece of paper, unfold it and continue, "This letter is from General McAuliffe. It say, 'For all the men and women of the 101st Airborne Division; I would like to say that I am grateful that we have shown our fighting spirits to out enemy and kept them out for the fate of our allies and the kingdom of Equestria. We do not give up nor we surrender because we are Airborne! On the 21st of December, the Moratins commanders of the forces that surrounded us, sent me a telegram that have stated that I have to give an unconditional surrender to them and give up Bastogne or we will annihilated by a powerful force. It may have sounded crazy but we are Airborne we will never give up to our enemy. In response to this message, I replied, "Nuts!'"

All the ponies laugh when they heard this.

Horton smiled then continues on, "'From now on, I will be expecting us to keep the Moratins out until our forces could get to us.

Keep fighting Screaming Eagles and Merry Christmas!' Regard, General Anthony McAuliffe. Now, you heard the man. We are still going to keep the Moratins at bay so we can get out of here. Our morale is still high and I'm sure that the Moratins are pissed off at us. So, let's keep up the fight! That is all for this assembly."

He dismissed everyone and they all went back to their positions, happy to hear on what their commander said to the Moratins.

Hours later, the Moratins were pissed off and send in a much larger force, attacking on all side.

Sliding into a trench, Twilight got beside Rainbow and asked her to call in some artillery support.

"Tango six; this is foxtrot three, requesting for some supports." Rainbow spoke into her radio while keeping her head down. She then remembers that her radio had been fried by the EMP days earlier.

She angrily said to Twilight next to her, "Thanks a lot, Twilight. You've just made me waste my time to pop some heads!"

Moratins tanks made their appearance in front of them and approaches them rapidly.

Many of the paratroopers were starting to retreat because of the sight but they hold positions when Ace ran up and down the line, barking out orders, "Hold the line! We can't let them through!"

In one of the foxhole, Rarity was busying reloading her M-16 when she heard a roar above her. She looks out of her hole to see one of the Moratins tanks coming straight at her!

She tried to get out when the tank forward machine gun fired at her, forcing her to stay in her foxhole.

Rarity hugged the bottom of the hole when the tank drove on top of her and stop. The tank ended up stopping on top of the hole, leaving Rarity unable to escape.

Every time the tank fired, the foxhole underneath seem to getting crushed by the weigh of the tank. Rarity cries for help.

Her cries could be heard above the gunfire and Spike was the first one to hear it.

"I'm coming Rarity!" Spike shouted and jump out of cover, ignoring Jasper and LaRoach warnings.

Spike reaches to the side of the tank and begins digging the ground with his claws.

Bullets started to kick up dirt around him but Spike chose to ignore it as he kept on digging, until he made a hole wide enough for Rarity to see out through.

"Get me out of here!" Rarity screamed from under the tank, waving her arms around.

"Hold on Rarity!" Spike said by holding on to Rarity arm, "I'm going to get you out. Just sit tight!"

"What do you mean 'just sit tight'? I'm stuck under a tank!" Rarity voice was muffle by the sound of the tank engine.

Spike dig and dig when he made a hole big enough for Rarity to crawl through. Spike grabs one of Rarity arm and begins to pull her out. Rarity body went through the hole and was soon free.

As soon as Spike got her out, they both ran back to the trenches to take cover while the fighting last around them.

After hours of intense fighting, the defenders finally pushed the Moratins back, but have suffered heavy casualties.

Fluttershy rushes to each wounded that she could find that needed help when she found a pony that have his gut spilled out from his abdomen but is still alive.

Fluttershy was disgust at the scene but aided him anyway.

Discord spotted her and ran over to her, exclaiming, "Let me help you, dear Fluttershy."

"Oh good. You can help me put his organs back in." Fluttershy replied by going through her medical pack for a pair of tweezers to pluck the guts that was attached to the ground off.

Discord nearly gagged when he picked up a small intestine off the ground.

Fluttershy notice this and calmly said to him, "You don't have to help me."

Discord swallowed something inside his mouth then quickly said, "Of course I do. That why I'm here."

The pony that they were trying to save gasped violently and Fluttershy said, "Quick! Cover his wound to keep the blood in so I can give him morphine."

Discord did on what she said, sliding his hand over the pony wound and firmly pressed against it.

The pony look at Discord in the eye, mumble something then died.

Fluttershy stop what she's doing and look at the dead pony as if she just lost a friend.

Discord put his hand off the corpse wound and said to Fluttershy who is crying, "I'm sorry, my dear. He's far from gone."

Fluttershy wiped her eyes then stiff. "I know we could've saved him. I just have too many ponies dying in my arms and I couldn't save each and every one of them! It just too much for me." She said then start crying again.

Discord look at the dead pony and thought to himself, _why did he have to die?_

He realized that war is no fun at all.

Discord look up at the sky above and was beginning to see the sky breaking up.

* * *

In the mind of every soldier that is defending Bastogne, December 25th became a miracle to them.

The foul weather broke up, allowing a clear sky, the sun shining and the best of all, Allied planes flew over Bastogne, dropping much-needed supplies like ammunitions, foods, medical supplies and Christmas presents.

That not all, news reaches the defenders that the human world have been secured and the Allied forces are beginning to push the Moratins forces back.

The newest friendly forces is only ten miles south of Bastogne and they're making an attempt to break the siege to save the 101st.

After cleaning his bazooka, Jasper look up at the sky because he's been hearing some aircraft noises and first caught sight of the wingspan of a C-47.

Then soon, the whole sky is full of these transport planes.

"Everyone, get up!" Jasper happily shouted as he ran up and down the line, "We're saved!"

"What?" Rainbow dizzily asked, yawning.

"Look up!"

Everyone who heard him look up at the sky and were all surprised by the sight of the aerial convoy. Instead of dropping troops like they're intended to do, the C-47s dropped care packages for the battered paratroopers. The packages were landing all over the place and some of the paratroopers went and grab some of the big packages to the front.

They were delighted of the items they found in there and took them out for uses.

"I guess the Army doesn't want us to die yet." Peter said to Red after the supply drops. "Giving us all the stuffs we need to keep fighting."

"Are you kidding? We've been holding off the Moratins for eight days with low supplies and no contact." Red replied after they passed a barn with a letter on the wall that said, "KILROY WAS STUCK HERE!"

"I guess things hadn't gone FUBAR." Peter suggested by dusting snows off his sleeve.

"It will in the meantime." Red nodded a nit then they both stop and stare at the snow-covered forest around them.

Not wanting this silence to continue on, Peter said, "How long do you think the armor will get here?"

Red shrugged. "Don't know. Depending on how much Patton's is willing to risk all of his troops to get here. It only a matter of time before the sky could cover up again."

"I hope not. I'm not willing to spend another day in this shithole. All I ever wanted is to get outta here so I could get back to the World and see my sister."

"Yeah" Red agrees. "All I ever wanted is for me and Ace to get back family. Maybe visit Dad's grave. Hadn't talk to him for a while."

Peter did not question this. He did not want to disrupt his best friend past nor his experience. They've been fighting together for a long time and often think themselves as old men while in a young age.

The two stallions stand there for a while then Peter spoke up again, "We were friends once, weren't we? Fighting alongside one another and going through different universe. It was fun at first but you started having your buddies killed, you don't know what to do or say so you just let it pass."

Red listen to Peter for a moment then thought about Grim, Angel, Risnerv and all the other ponies that he'd fought alongside with, now under the graves with their dog tags on it.

"You know Red? I had this great idea once. I was thinking once we get back to the World, we should start a shrimping business. You as a captain and I'm your first mate. We should totally do it."

Red didn't listen to him this time. He hold up his hoof and said to Peter, "Shut it."

"What? I told this to Grim once but he wouldn't-,"

"No really. Shut up!"

This anger Peter. He about to say something when a branch snap on his right. They both turn to the direction of the sound when an unknown pony wearing an American infantry uniform appeared out of nowhere.

The pony face was frightened at first then was quickly calm when he approaches to Red and Peter.

"Hi there." He said, stopping in front of them. "I'm so glad I've found someone from my unit."

Peter and Red look at each other then back at the pony.

"We're no infantry." Peter said with a frown on his face.

"I thought you were." The pony said, confused. "I got separated from my unit when this shit first began and had to hide out until I heard rumors saying that there a division defending a town so I thought I could join you."

"What unit are you from?" Red asked the stallion, curious.

"I'm from the 26th Division." The pony replied with a smile. "Does it mean anything to you?"

Red only shook his head. "No."

"Where is the direction to Bastogne?"

"That a way." Peter pointed behind him.

"Well, I'd better get going again. I can't wait to ve my buddies again."

Before the stallion could turn to leave, Red said again, this time with commencement. "Hold on. Did you say the word 've' as in 'see'?"

The pony look at both Red and Peter wide eyes and gulp.

"Aw… shit." Peter was beginning to say when the pony turn tail and ran.

Both Peter and Red raised their guns in unison and aimed it at the back of the Moratin infiltrator.

Then, a shot ring out.

The Moratin fell to the ground, dead and both Red and Peter look at each other. None of them fired their guns.

Coming out from their left from behind a bush, Ace appear in front of them and called out, "I hope you faggot learned your lesson about talking to stranger."

"Yeah well, it hard if they decided to play dress up." Red said, slinging his gun over his back. "How'd you find us?"

"Just passing by?"

"Were you stalking us?" Peter asked by throwing in some sarcasm in his voice.

"Are you being a dumbass or are you going to help me search his body?" Ace replied as he walk over to the body to examine.

Peter turn to Red and grinned, "Man, he is so good." Then went over to help search the body.

Red smiled a bit. He was glad that his brother and best friend are back to the way they are. Even after all they've been through. This is like the only time they fought together before they'll be separate again.

Red was saddened when he thought about it. He doesn't want to get separate from them again then get send out to lead a total pack of strangers. He doesn't want to do it again even though he doesn't ask to lead in the first place.

All he ever wanted is to join the army and fight as a infantryman but was unaware when he was given a squad of people that he don't even know and , even if he does know them, get them kill under his command which he feel miserable at most.

Everyone he knew wanted to fight as an infantryman but ended up assuming a leadership position. Ace is a leader. Peter is a leader and so does Grim.

But Grim is not here. Nor he's alive. He'd been haunting Red throughout the war, mostly to blame him for getting him killed. Red was trying his best to hide the secret of the death of Allen and Garnett and was trying to hide his stress from Peter who was getting into him when he discovered that Red was hallucinating.

Peter had been worried about Red, much like Twilight, about his problem and wanted him to get out of the frontline as soon as possible so he won't get himself killed.

Maybe Red should tell Peter on what really going on inside his head. Just maybe.

After searching through the body, Peter look up to find Red staring out into the distance and called out to him, "Hey Red!"

Red's eyes twitched from the calling and turn toward the call. He replied back, "Yeah?"

"Do you think I should cut the bastard ear and use it as a trophy?"

Red grinned from this and exclaimed, "You can do whatever you want."

 _Man, it good to be together_ , Red thought by walking over to Ace and Peter, _I wonder what the other are doing?_

Sitting on the edge of her foxhole, Twilight had waited for so long for this siege, and this war, to end.

Listening to her surrounding, she heard a noise and makes it out as a tank engine that could be heard in front of her.

"Oh come on, not now!" she muttered then went and jump into a trench in front of her.

She land next to Spike, who is wrapping himself with a blanket to keep warmth.

"Hear that, Spike?" Twilight asked, checking her magazine and slammed it back into her rifle and cocked it. "Sound like trouble."

Spike rolled his eyes then replied back with a cough. "Twilight, please, you'd said that every time before an attack begin. Much like anything else."

Then he sprang up and stands next to Twilight, alarmed. "Twilight, wait." Spike put his best ear toward the direction of the tank engine. After a moment of silence, he said to her, "That not the tank we're listening for."

"What?" Twilight asked, confused.

"It sounded more like… a Sherman! I think that ours guys!" Before he could get up to investigate any further, Twilight stopped him.

"Spike, wait." Twilight said as she looks out into the field. "I don't think they're friendly. They could be Moratins in disguise. Let's wait and see what happen next."

Spike flopped back down to the trench. He hopes it they're guys. Or they could be the enemy.

With half of his body sticking out of the open hatch on top of his Sherman, Lieutenant Richardson scanned the partly destroyed forest around him. He was ordered by his company commander to lead an armored convoy to Bastogne.

This is not the first time he had to do it. He and his crew done it before back at the Highland at the place called Veghel, where he was leading a convoy when they were under attacked by a large Moratin force.

Richardson and his tankers were cut off and drive into the village by themselves when they encounter and fought side by side through the town with this squad of paratroopers.

He was impressed by their fighting tactics and respected their leader, who goes by the name Red. After the battle, Richardson saw them again during the reopening of Hell's Highway, but that also where he lost one of his men, Cole, who got torn in half by a shell when their tank took a direct hit during the brutal fight.

Even after the campaign, Richardson often wondered what happened to those paratroopers when his division was transferred to 3rd Army Corps.

Then, came the Crystal Mountains. He heard stories about the troopers in Bastogne and he felt sorry for them. When he was ordered to drive straight to Bastogne to break the siege, he discovered that the 101st Airborne was defending the area.

Richardson volunteered to lead the first convoy into Bastogne, primarily to see Red's squad, if they survive.

Now here he is, driving into enemy territory and trying to find the paratroopers.

"Sir." A voice called out below him. "Did we find any friendly yet?"

"No, Adam," Richardson whispered back loud enough for Adam to hear, "No sign yet."

Then moment later, his tank drive into a clearing and, when Richardson look ahead, he spotted rows of helmets popping out of foxholes and seems to be looking at them.

Richardson ordered his driver to stop the tank so he could decide whether or not the helmets are friendly or not.

Before he could think any further, a bullet whizzed by and hit the hatch by only a couple of inches away from his left hoof.

When this happened, Richardson quickly went inside his tank and closes the hatch.

"Sir, are you okay? Are you hit?" Adam asks when Richardson got in.

With his chest beating like a hammer, Richardson sighed with relief. That was close. "I'm fine Adam.

"That was jolly good show, sir. They could've hit you!"

"I'm guessing they don't know who we are. Quick, hand me that flag."

Adam handed him a flag that they carried and Richardson prepare himself to open the hatch and display the flag to whoever was out there.

If they don't open fire on him.

After shooting at the tank commander, Twilight shouted at Spike, "Spike! What did you do that for?"

"You said they could be enemy in disguise!" Spike said when the tank commander went back into his tank.

"I didn't mean that literally." Twilight replied back with a look.

Then, the tank commander came back out of his hatch and displayed an Equestrian flag then shouted, "Are any of ye are the Screaming Eagles? We are the relief force."

When he said this, Richardson felt completely stupid. But he risked it away.

He watch the ponies in the trenches look at each other then one of them climb out and walk over to him.

Richardson watched the mare stop at the side of his tank and said to him, "Are you really the forces that were suppose to reach us?"

Richardson look around he reply, "Does it look like it?" When he said this, he quickly recognizes the mare and exclaimed, "I couldn't believe my eye! It Corporal Twilight! Ah, it good to see you again. Where is Lieutenant Red?"

Twilight, who also recognizes Richardson, replied back with a happy look on her face, "He's out walking with one of his friends." Then she remembers what happened earlier. "Sorry Spike shot at you."

"None at all. He's not a good shot after all." They laugh when the rest of the convoy arrived in the clearing.

The Airborne is saved. The siege didn't end on that day but on the 26th, the next day, the whole 3rd Armored Division reaches Bastogne and begin to push the Moratins back, leaving the paratroopers to rest after eight harrowing days.

In Bastogne, Red was talking to Richardson, first patting each other backs and talking about what they've been doing throughout the past weeks. Twilight came over and told Red that Peter wanted to see him and asked him to join him at a café.

"Alright, be there in the sec." Red said. When she walks away, Richardson asked Red with a quizzical look, "Why is a Princess fighting with you chaps?"

"She asked for it. That's how we'd been going around. People asked us the same question and she usually gets mad at it. I wouldn't ask her about her horn though."

"Never have the faintest to know about it." Richardson said, chuckling.

It good to have to soldiers sharing memories even after all they've been through.

Red looks at his watch and said, "I got to get going. It's good to see you again."

Before he could leave, Richardson said to him, "Hey now, you fellas take care of yourself."

They said each other goodbyes and walked away. Red was delighted to see Richardson but wondered why Peter needed him for.

* * *

In the café at the other part of town, Twilight picked up stale bread from a countertop and asked Peter next to her, "Are these things are even good enough to eat?"

Peter picked one up, sniff it then said, "Stale bread is good enough to eat." and bites the top.

When he said Red walk through the door, Peter put down the bread and greeted Red with a worried look. "Red, there's something we need to talk about."

"What's for?" Red asked, confused.

Peter sighed and looks at Twilight behind him before replying, "It about you and your squad."

"Is there a problem?" Friar stepped in who happened to be there with them.

Red ignores Friar and turned to Peter, "What do you mean, 'me and my squad'? We're fine."

"They are but not you. I don't think you are capable enough to lead them. You were hallucinating. Even back at Eindhoven you've been seeing things that are not there."

"I was looking for Angel." Red said in a low voice but Peter pressed on, "You were dry firing at a wall!"

"I WAS LOOKING FOR ANGEL!" Red screamed at him, which made Twilight and Friar to stop on what they're doing to see what going on.

Even he had been screamed at; Peter scowled at Red and said, "Sometimes, a leader doesn't have to be like this."

Outside the café, Rainbow is sitting on the hood of Venda, watching Red and Peter carrying out their argument.

Snows were falling from the sky and, right when she was about to turn away from the building, a mortar round scream overhead and hit the roof of the café. And the whole thing collapse on the unsuspecting ponies in the café.

Dust of cloud blew through the café windows as someone yelled, "Mortar!"

Mortar rounds hit everywhere as Rainbow ran toward the café to check for survivors.

Laying on the floor, Red opened his eyes to see the café in ruin. His body is burning and his face felt like it on fire.

In front of him, Rainbow was going through the rubble when she spotted him. "Red! Oh man, you face! It messed up!"

Red don't know if it an insult or a joke. But his face burned, along with the scar on his forehead, as Rainbow ran over to him, put his arm around her back and carried him out of the café.

"Peter…" Red was beginning to say as he was set next to Twilight who is struggling to breathe when something got into her windpipe.

Coming out of the building, Jasper and LaRoach carry Friar out and set him on the ground.

Friar lays motionless and his whole face is covered in blood.

LaRoach reach for Friar neck and check for his pulse, only to find none. "Aw… shit. Not Friar." LaRoach said when he realized a jagged piece of metal is sticking out of Friar chest. His heart has been perched.

Rainbow carried Peter out of the building, set him down and checking for his breathing.

Like Friar, Peter is laying motionless as Rainbow put her hooves over Peter chest and push against it. "Come on Peter. Come on! You are stronger than this. You got to breathe for me please!"

Rarity appeared on Rainbow side and places her hoof over Rainbow's right shoulder and said to her, "Rainbow Dash, he's gone."

Rainbow turns to her angrily and she screamed with tears, "No! Don't say that! He's not dead!"

She continues to push Peter chest. "Come on Peter. Look at me! Look at me!" she hit Peter as hard as she could as she cried out, "PETER, WAKE UP!"

When she hit him, Peter cough out cloud of blood from his mouth and started breathing again.

Rainbow was glad at this. She saves a friend life.

After removing the metal and taking Friar dog tag, LaRoach said to Jasper with a choke voice, "We're not good out here. We got to them 'em to an aid station."

Jasper nodded and bends down to lift Friar, his good friend, over his shoulder to carry him to a jeep.

LaRoach offer to help him but Jasper insisted. "No, I got him." Then walk over to the jeep.

When they took Twilight and Peter on the jeep to be carry to the aid station, Red just sat there and touch his bloody face.

Applejack came over to him and offer to help him.

"I'm fine. Just get them out of here." Red said, not looking at him.

Applejack nodded and turns around. Before she could walk away, she said to him, "Have you had enough?"

Red looks at the ground in front of him and closes his eyes. "No."

After they left, Red open his eyes and look at the snow-covered sky.

Red- _**Every time I asked whoever up there to take me and not them. Why it's always them? Angel's just a kid**_ _._

Angel- _**I told you to stop calling me that.**_

Red- _**And Peter? You can't have him.**_

Peter- _**Sometimes, you asking this can't always be true.**_

Red- _**You can't have him.**_

 **AN: That must've stuck to Red though because he lost his only best friend on the war. Bastogne is over but the end of it sucks. It hard for me because I let's two main characters dies in one chapter. It wasn't suppose to happened but hey, it war. Seeing Peter in a near death experience was kinda sad. I'm sorry if you like Marsh or Friar but they got to do. Hit me all you want but I can't bring them back.**

 **They now joined the** _'Those we Lost'_ **men. May the force rest on their loveable Canadian souls.**

 **Points if you get the Forrest Gump reference somewhere in the chapter!**

 **Well, that all for today. The next chapter is going to be the aftermath of the Bastogne episode and keep note of Red, will ya?**

 **See you on the other side!**


	6. The First Bad News

Chapter 27

 _THE FIRST BAD NEWS_

December 28

Bastogne

2040 hours

It was two days after the bombing of the café. Friar's body was placed next to all the other soldiers who had died defending Bastogne.

Twilight is still in the hospital and is slowly recovering when they removed the clod of dirt that was stuck in her windpipe. She will soon get back into the fight.

Nobody knows what happened to Peter and were restless as they wait for the new about him. For the most part, Red was worried that Peter won't make it. After all, Peter nearly died but was revived by Rainbow. After all they've been through, Red just couldn't take it as his best friend lay somewhere, unconscious but barely alive.

As dusk fell, the squad is somewhere in town, some of them gathered around under a streetlamp for any light available while the other were just doing their own business.

Especially for Jasper, who was trying to shoot Venda after her engine failed to work. But Pinkie was preventing him from doing it.

"Out of the way, Pinkie! I want to shoot this old bitch for not working!" Jasper said as he push his way toward the jeep.

Pinkie push him back a bit then exclaimed, "For the last time Jasper! You are not shooting the jeep!"

Not far from them, Spike is sitting on the curb with his head lowered, sadden about Twilight. Rarity and Applejack sat down on either said of him with Rarity asking him if he alright.

"I'm fine." said Spike with a sniff. "I'm just wondering if Twilight will be okay."

"You bet she will!" sys Applejack, patting Spike on the shoulder. "That old girl can take on anything like a hard train. She'll be coming back, I know she will."

Spike wiped his eyes and replied back with a look on his face, "You think so?"

"I bet a million bits for it." Applejack replied with a smile on her face then wink, "Just you wait."

"Talk about money," says Rarity who doesn't bother with Twilight recovering, "I wonder what dear Red's is doing."

They all look to their side and spotted Red sitting by himself not far from them on the other side of the street. In his own mind, Red is constantly replaying all the memories that have happened to him for the past months. Even the worst one. Now, he thought of all the time he'd spent with his friends, those he'd lost in this damn war.

He already lost Grim. And now Peter.

No, not Peter. Anything but him. Peter is the only one that Red have left that he considered as a family, beside Ace. He can't lost him now, they still got more roads ahead of them that they need to keep on going if they ever want to go home.

Red thought was disrupted when someone stopped in front of him and spoke in a loud clear voice that brought Red back to reality, "Are you Lieutenant Red?"

Red look up to see who said it. It's Colonel Sink, commander of the 506th. Sink black grayish coat is perfectly groom as well as his uniform. This is the one man who can withstand any dangers even when he exposed himself in the face of combat. His green eyes stared down at a soldier who thinks he had lost everything in this war.

Red have no choice but to get up and reply to the question that he thought that ceased to exist. "Yes sir, that's me."

Sink look at him in the eye for a moment as he sees something and begin, "I understand that you have lost someone who is very close to you and I am sorry for your loss."

Red nodded. Right now, he just don't want to think about it as Sink continue on what he has to say, "I heard that you've trained your soldiers exceptionally to lead and follow in combat. I also heard that you have great leaders in this squad."

His words brought Red to listen closely.

What he didn't noticed is that Rainbow was listening to their conversation not far from them. She too know what Sink is talking about.

Sink said with a gesture, "I'm here to find someone who can lead 2nd squad while Sergeant Peter is out of combat. Do you someone who have a strong quality of leadership and who could attentively fight as a leader?"

Given by this difficult asked by a high ranking officer, Red look around and spotted Rainbow watching them. Rainbow have been one of the best soldier in the squad. She have followed ever orders Red had given her and she led her team through every tasks that seem to be the impossible. Yet she accomplish it. By all mean, Rainbow was destined to become a squad leader like Red and Peter.

But letting Angel getting killed changes all that. Still, Red wondered if Rainbow is ready for her big promotion.

After a moment of silence, he'd made his decision.

"Corporal…" he look at Rainbow then at Sink, "Twilight, sir."

Red thought if he'd made the right decision, he knew he will regret it.

Sink nodded in agreement and said, "Alright then, I'll recommend her for the promotion. You keep up a fine work, Lieutenant." They saluted and Sink left.

When he went away, Rainbow walk up to Red and said in disgust, "That's it?"

Red, who was overcome in sorrow, said to her, "Rainbow…"

But Rainbow wouldn't listen. She shook her head and replied, "Name one order. Name one and we'll see the difference that set between me and Twilight."

"Rainbow. I have to choose her." Red snapped back, anger growing inside of him, waiting to be unleased.

"Yeah but I…"

"Corporal!" Red raised his voice at her.

"What?" Rainbow said, hurt as she have the urge to cry.

Red took a step closer to her and said at her face, "You follow order or you die. I heard you says that to Angel but he still die in my fucking arm just because you couldn't make him understand."

Rainbow look at him glassy eyes then her eyes fell to the ground. She remember the night of Angel's fate. She still could've save if she had the chance but she didn't.

To make this clear, Red point at her chest as she said to her, "We all have a decision to make. Maybe you should start listening to that big head of your." He left without saying anything more, leaving Rainbow there stunned.

All Rainbow can do is bow her head slightly, close her eyes and cry silently as snow begin to fall.


	7. Foy

Chapter 28

 _FOY_

December 30

Bastogne Outskirt

0443 hours

Nothing could be so peaceful without another attack on the city of Bastogne. The siege had been broken days before and the enemy forces have been pushed back all the way they came from. Mainly the paratroopers can't wait to get back to Moremelon for an R and R but their division commander came back from a visit in Canterlot and, as it turn out, order his division to switch back to offense mode and attack whatever they lost at the start of the campaign.

To the paratroopers, this is not fair because they've been fighting long and hard to defend Bastogne and now they been given another mission to carry out?

Sometimes, people can be really stupid when they look forward to it.

At the 506th section of the perimeter, 3rd squad had got an order to pack up and move out. Of course none of them complain about this but they were feeling kind of lonely when more people left the squad.

There are now only ten of them left out of the original thirteen when they first arrived here.

"I just don't get it," says Spike after hearing the news about the order and Twilight's promotion, "We still has to fight while many of us are simply gone for the heck of it. Marsh's gone. Friar's gone. Peter's gone. And now Twilight's gone. What will happen to us? Are we're going to be like them?"

Before he could say anything else, he was slap in the face by LaRoach who said to him, "Get yourself together, man! We are not gonna die. I'm not going to risk myself getting snipe in the back of the head while you continue to cry yourself out. We must learn to stick together and forget the past!"

"Actually, Spike here is right." Applejack exclaimed after Spike pulls himself together. "Twilight is gone so now who is going to be Red second-in-command?"

"Obviously, it's going to be you, Applejack." Says Rarity, pointing at her. "Saying how you are the third highest ranking corporal around here."

Rainbow who is sitting on a crate next to them roll her eyes when she heard this and watch the constant booming from the distance.

Applejack nodded to Rarity remark. "Huh. I guess yer right. Ah am the third highest ranking here in this squad. I haven't thought of that. But who the hay will lead Twilight team while she'd gone?"

"Nobody." Said Red as he walk toward them and pointed toward LaRoach standing next to Pinkie and Spike. "LaRoach is the only person left on the team and there is no one else beside him. He could be put into great use for Jasper's team. Friar's dead and Jasper is going to need another person to keep the bazooka going."

LaRoach nodded in agreement, "I suppose you're right."

He walk over to Jasper and Jasper said to him, "Hi buddy!"

"Shut the hell up!" LaRoach snapped at him so Jasper replied with a sad face, "Okay."

A few hour later, the entire 506th have been given its objectives and are starting to pull out of Bastogne to head north. 3rd Battalion was sent to the northeast to capture the city of Foy, which lies on the intersection between the rest of the mountains and Bastogne.

As they were leaving the outskirt of the city of Bastogne, Red look back at the city and thought of all the hell he and everyone has been through. They had lost a lot of good soldiers there and they've been out to the test to survive as long as they could stay together.

They have survive hell, but there are more to come.

The squad set up positions outside the city of Foy inside the forest and waited for the signal from HQ to attack.

As they were setting up, Red had a special announcement, "Alright, listen up so I don't have to repeat myself." He waited till everyone gather around him then begin, "I hate to say this but here we go; Being a highest-ranking officer here, I've been told to stay behind and observe the battle because the high brass are coming here to watch the show. Not only that but I've been also told to pick one of you to be acting squad leader for both 2nd and 3rd squad. Now, the pony that will be leading them," he turn to Rainbow, "is you Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow snort at this then said to him, "You're serious right?"

Red face was dead serious as he said to her, "Does it look like I'm joking?"

Rainbow face lost the smile and she crisply said, "Yes sir, I will do my best, sir."

"Well, that is all I'm going to say." Red said then walk away, soon follow by Applejack.

When she reaches to his side, she said to him with an expression shown on her face, "Are you sure it was a good idea to pick Rainbow for the job?"

"You'll see." Red replied which makes Applejack stopped on her track and frown. What does he means you'll see?

Later in the day around 0550 hours, another announcement was given, this time was special.

"What do you mean by 'special', darling?" Rarity asked as soon as she heard the new form Red. "The brass coming directly here from Canterlot?"

Red sighted then nodded. "Yeah."

Jasper couldn't understand this then asked whoever around him, "Wait, why the hell could some commander would come here when it still hot?"

Before any of them could answer for him, a voice boom behind them, "We are here only for the troops."

They all turn around at the same time and discover that voice belong to Princess Celestia.

The princess is wearing an olive drab army issue combat uniform and a steel helmet. Standing side by side with her is Princess Luna and Cadence who are also wearing the same concept as Celestia. There are also Generals and Field Marshals around them but they seem to be more caution about the fighting around them.

Before any of the ponies could move, Celestia continue, "May I also say that I am here to see my little ponies?"

All of the soldiers, except for LaRoach and Jasper, bow to the ground then smiled as their Highnesses came to see them.

Rarity, who almost fainted when she first saw them, exclaimed with delight, "Oh my! It was a pleasure to see you all here. We are about to begin taking this town."

"Indeed." Luna nodded, "Which is why we are here in the first place until we, what do you say, pay a little visit to those that we last saw a few months ago?"

"Well, your letters did kept us together, your highness." Applejack chuckle.

Next to Luna, Cadence look around her with a worried look then said to them, "May I ask, where is Twilight?"

It took the two sisters to realize that their former student is nowhere to be seen.

In reply to Twilight's whereabouts, Applejack took off her hat and put in front of her chest as she said to them, "For much of your concern, Twilight… is still in Bastogne, for as much as we knew of."

"What for? Is she hurt?" said Celestia, alarmed.

Before Applejack could answer, Pinkie exclaimed for her, "Of course not, she's getting her promotion!"

The three princesses sighted with relief.

"Oh, I thought the worse." Cadence said, glad that Twilight is alright, not as much as they knew of.

"That is a wonderful new," Celestia exclaimed. "I did heard from your regimental commander and Shining Armor that Twilight is getting her promotion to Sergeant."

"Really?" Pinkie asked who is now confused. "The last I heard is that Twilight is in the hospital because she nearly died when a building collapse on her."

When they heard this, the three princess's faces grew grim. Bug the silence was quickly broken when Applejack hit Pinkie in the shoulder and quickly say with a laugh, "Ooh, what a catch. That Pinkie alright. She just got the wind knock out of her which really gotten her to say random stuff, am I'm right, ya'll?" she look at her squad mates to back her up and they all let out a weak laugh and said something like; "Yeah, you got it." Or "We all grew stupid for the past hour." Or even "Why is everyone turning white?"

After an awkward silence between the squad and the princesses, Rainbow look at her watch then said out loud, "It's almost time. We got to be ready if we really want to take this town." She turned and went to where 2nd squad is who are talking to each other and checking their weapons as to get ready for an upcoming battle.

There are only five soldiers out of the original thirteen that started right before Bastogne. Seven of them were killed during the siege while the eight, Peter, is wounded.

Corrion, one of the survivors of 2nd squad, have been acting squad leader when Peter was hit. Corrion is one of the few veterans who survived through the Canterlot campaign and the Highland. With a scar that crossed on the said of his face, he have been obviously been one of the toughest trooper in the outfit.

When Rainbow reaches them, they all stopped talking as Rainbow stop in front of them and said to them, "Alright you guys, I've been put here in charge of you guys to lead on taking this town. Most of you don't know me well but I'm pretty sure I'll get you out of this alive. Let's all try our best and be awesome as we can so we could get out of this mess, hoorah?"

They all said, "Hoorah" in unison after Rainbow and went back to their business, this time they were delighted to have someone to lead them.

After giving out the speech, Rainbow asks the name of the squad so she could call out their names during combat.

Corporal Corrion is the leader of the squad, also for the Assault team leader. Gray-eye and blue coat, he's still consider everyone favorite acting squad leader.

Private First Class Mark is part of Corrion Assault team and another one of the veterans that was in the squad. Mark have yellow eyes and tan coat but was often mistaken as an earth pony when reality, he's actually a unicorn even though his fur coat cover his horn.

PFC Paige had recently joined the squad during the Highland operation and have been the leader of the Fire team ever since the old one was killed during the attack on Hell's Highway. A Pegasus and have blue-eyes and a white colored coat and mane, he could easily blend into the snow without being seen, literally.

The squad only survivor for their machine gun team is Private Jones, who like manning a 50. Cal machine gun than a regular SAW. He have brown-eyes and a dark-colored spot on his grayish coat because he like to see things blow up before him just like Jasper's.

The last member of the squad is Private Jason, who's just arrived in the area shortly after the siege been broken. With his greenish-eyes and red coat, he is the youngest squad member at the age of fifteen.

When Rainbow first laid eye on him, it struck her with an image of Angel whom she failed to protect. Jason look a lot like him so now Rainbow set herself a goal to try and protect him at least once she could prove to Red that she could lead and not get anyone killed under her command, which Red had done.

She could probably one day be a squad leader for 3rd squad.

The plan for taking Foy seem to be a challenging one. The attack start at 0660 hours and when it does, troopers from the E Company has to rush across a field to get to the west side of town. Then, they have to fight their way through and link up with I Company that are coming from the southeast. Once the linkup is complete, they will go and secure the rest of town.

While waiting for the attack to start, Red went over to where Applejack is and told her that she, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Spike to standby.

"Why do I have to stay here?" Applejack asked after Red told her.

"In case Rainbow failed." Rd replied then walk away from her to join the high brass next to the tree-line.

Applejack was confused at first but then now she knew what he's meant.

At precisely 0600, the forward line of the tree-line was covered in smoke from smoke canisters and rushes of paratrooper's dashes through the smoke and across the field.

While Red, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy and Spike are standing by, the rest of 3rd squad and all of 3rd platoon were crossing the field when suddenly, they were met by hail of mortar fires and machine gun fire from a house in front of them.

Two ponies were hit as they took cover behind a stack of hays in front of the enemy-occupied house.

As they were pinned down, Rainbow order Jasper to take a shot at the machine gun next with his bazooka.

Jasper shook his head. "I can't!" he yelled, "There's too much firing around me to knock it out!"

"We can't stay here! We need to move!" Rainbow shouted back then said to Corrion next to him, "Get behind that wagon over there and put some fire on them!"

By now, they are receiving intense rifle fire from another house and three more ponies are hit. Corrion led Mark and Jason to the wagon and use it as cover. When they got behind it, the enemy machine gun fire at the wagon, forcing the three ponies behind it heads down.

After watching them get pinned down behind cover, Rainbow was unable to do anything as ponies are getting hit around her. This is much like the same thing back at Carentan but instead of being in a ditch, they are behind some hays that can't stop bullets. For the most part, they are screwed.

While watching the carnage from the tree-line, Red was urging Rainbow to move on but when he saw her not doing anything, he turn to a radioman next to him and tell him to get him on the phone to the troopers upfront.

Back behind cover, Rainbow thought of falling back so she yelled at everyone to fall back behind her. She got up and rushes toward the wagon under suppressing that she order to get those to fall back.

Corrion and Mark went back to the hay while Jason fired at the house to provide them cover. When they got to safely, Rainbow turn and noticed that Jason is not firing anymore.

"Come on, kid! We got to move!" Rainbow said to him and patted him on the shoulder. As soon as she patted him, Jason's head fell back, revealing that he have been shot between the eyes.

Rainbow went wide-eye then quickly hurried back to where the other are at. There are already activity going on when she got there. Beside fear, there is chaos when ponies are trying to figure out what to do next. Almost all of them are yelling at Rainbow for orders.

"Rainbow, we're pinned down and our flank is going to fold. What now?" said Rarity, holding on to her helmet from the explosions around her.

Beside Rarity, Paige is holding a radio phone while yelling at Rainbow, "Rainbow! Red is asking you to give out orders and get a move on!"

With all of these ponies screaming at her, Rainbow covered her ears with her hooves then scream loudly as she can into the air.

When he heard Rainbow's scream back at the tree-line, Red scream, "Damn it!" and tried to rush toward the pinned down soldiers so he, himself, could get them moving.

When he was about three feet from the base of the tree-line, Celestia was yelling at him to get back to where he was before he took off.

"Red!" she yelled, almost walking out of the tree-line, "get back over here this instant! You are not permitted to go out there! You are a high ranking officer and have been ordered to stay out of this battle!"

"Then a princess shouldn't be out here where she could get shot!" Red snapped back and walk back toward the tree-line.

Not wanting to see his troop pinned down any longer, Red shouted at his team to get going then turned to Applejack next to him, "Applejack, take Pinkie, Spike, Fluttershy and the mortar team and get over there now! Take command from Rainbow and get that line moving!"

Applejack nodded and mention those that Red ordered to follow her. Together, they rushes out into the field to support their pinned down comrades. Luckily, they made it through the hail of fire unscathed and got behind cover.

Applejack got to where Rainbow is frozen at and shouted at her, "Rainbow! You got to snap out of it! I'm taking over, okay?"

Rainbow didn't say anything. She was just staring into space like nothing is happening.

Applejack saw this and grunted angrily then order the mortar team to lob a round at the house where the machine gun is located. They quickly set their mortar tube and, without the base, put the mortar round in and launched it at the machine gun and the whole thing exploded.

When the machine gun is out of action, Applejack got up and waved, "Let's go ya'll!" then rush into town, follow by other, leaving Fluttershy behind to stay with Rainbow who is now shell-shocked.

The inside of town is a lot worse than the outside. The paratroopers has almost got to the center of the city when they got under fire from Moratins of all types.

Taking cover behind a wall next to a house, Jasper fired his bazooka at a pair of Moratins manning a 20mm flak gun when he noticed more paratroopers coming in from the southeast of the other side of the Moratin defenses.

"Isn't that I Company?" Jasper asked Discord next to him who then replied back with a shrug, "I believe they are. I think it seem that they're having trouble getting through. Somepony need to get over there and help them."

After listening to Discord, Spike put down his pistol, got up and ran as fast as he can toward I Company, by going through the Moratin defenses.

"Spike, come back!" his friends yelled but he chose to ignore them and focus on getting to the other side alive without getting himself shot.

He ran past the town water fountain, run right between a pair of Moratins who are reloading another flak gun. They were surprised when a baby dragon ran by so they turn their gun at him.

Spike pretty much shaken the enemy defenses when he got to I Company positions.

After telling them the information they needed, again Spike got up and went back the way he came. When they finish turning their flak gun around, the Moratins was about to aim and fire when Spike ran past them again, which they need to turn around again in order to shoot him.

Spike runs past the water fountain and eventually got back to his squad position.

"Are you crazy?" LaRoach exclaimed when Spike got back to cover. "You've get killed by doing that stupid shit!"

"Hey, a dragon gonna do what a dragon gonna do." Spike said and pick up his gun to continue the fight.

With the help from Spike, I Company, begin to shift their fire toward the Moratin defenses. The paratroopers reach the center and start taking out any resistance.

At one point, LaRoach rushes up to a store where is couple of Moratins is hiding at and toss a grenade through the window. After the explosion inside the store, he and Jasper walk in to check for survivors. Not only that all of the Moratins inside are dead, they discovered barrels of wine in the back all blown to bits.

"Goddamn it, LaRoach," Jasper said after seeing the destroyed wine, "You have to chuck a grenade in here."

LaRoach kicked a bottle to the back and said to Jasper, "It was just to keep you from getting drunk." Then walk away.

A few hours later, the town is finally secured. After seeing the high brass leave the area, Red went into Foy to congratulate Applejack on successfully leading the attack into Foy.

"I know you can do it." Said Red after meeting with Applejack next to a destroyed building.

"I thought so too." Applejack said quietly, looking over her shoulder to see Rainbow sitting in a driver on a jeep.

Standing inside a sphere on top of a church, LaRoach, Jasper, Pinkie, Rarity and Spike are watching soldiers cheering below.

"Does this called for a celebration?" Pinkie said to those around her with excitement.

"What are you talking about?" says Jasper next to her, pointing at LaRoach who is standing next to the sphere railing with his back facing the town, "This idiot here lobbed a grenade into the town only liquor."

LaRoach took a drag from his cigarette then said to Jasper, "What do you mean? I did us a favor." Right when he finish his sentence, LaRoach head jerked forward when a sniper bullet enter through the back of his head and exit through his forehead, spraying blood on his friends. His helmet flew off when he took a hit and everyone stood frozen in place.

When a last bit of life, LaRoach stumble forward a bit then fell backward over the railing.

"LaRoach!" Jasper screamed and watches in horror as LaRoach fell out of the sphere.

As soon as it happened, the other hit the floor to take cover, all of them were shocked.

"Where did that came from?" Rarity asked.

"Sniper. It came before we could hear the shot." Spike said to her with his eyes filled with excitement.

Inside one of the houses that faces the center of town, a Moratin sniper watches his target fall out of the sphere, cocked his rifle to eject an empty cartridge, insert a new one and cocked his rifle again to insert the bullet into the chamber and fire at an unfortunate soldier sitting on a jeep…

After she saw LaRoach fall out of the sphere, Applejack dove to cover behind a building when Red screamed, "Sniper!"

Applejack quickly looks around the center, hoping to find the sniper's location. After the second shot was fired, Applejack finally located the sniper whereabouts'. And so does Red.

"Applejack! Gives me some covering fire now!" Red shouted then run toward the house where the sniper is at.

Instead of using her machine gun, Applejack took out Rainbow sniper rifle and, with cool aim, fired at the sniper. The bullet went and struck the sniper in the forehead.

When he got to the front of the house, Red saw the sniper get hit then sighted in relief. All the soldiers that dove to cover after the first shot came out of covers and begin to start searching the town for any more snipers.

After the incident, Red yelled for his squad to fall in. "Is everyone alright?" he asked once everyone got together."

"They got LaRoach." Jasper said with tears in his eyes.

To break the moment of silence, Applejack said with an alarmed voice, "Where's Rainbow Dash?"

Red look around and spotted Rainbow laying on the jeep with her head down. That second shot got her in the side of her chest but she's still alive.

"Aw shit…" Red muttered then screamed, "Rainbow!" and ran toward her.

* * *

Using the jeep they got from Foy, Red, Applejack and Fluttershy sped down the snowy road with Rainbow laying on the hood of the jeep toward an aid station on Bastogne. They quickly got there in no time and, as they pulled up beside the aid station, the regimental doctor, Gideon ran outside to meet them.

He gasped when he saw Rainbow on the jeep. "How long have she been out?" he asked Red when they got Rainbow down on a stretcher and got her inside the aid station.

"A couple of minute. Maybe more." Red replied with a worry look on his face.

They put her on an operating table when Gideon finally said, "I'll see what I can do."

Leaving Rainbow back at the aid station is hard to maintain as the three friends went back on the jeep and start heading back to Foy.

Losing two more ponies in one day is hard for Red. Especially Rainbow.

Christ, how many people do Red have to lose for this damn war to end?


	8. Those We Lost

Chapter 29

 _THOSE WE LOST_

December 30

Bastogne-Foy road

1928 hours

The battle for Foy was merely just the beginning for the Allies to push the Moratins out of the Crystal Mountain. The whole world is almost secured as the Allies are ready to push their enemy out of this dimension.

Driving down the road toward north, six jeeps carrying 2nd and 3rd squad are driving past burned-out vehicles that are positioned next to the rows of trees that stand alongside the road. Sitting in the lead jeep, Rarity looks toward the trees then said to the driver of her jeep with excitement, "It's good to have you back in action, Twilight!"

Twilight, sitting in the driver seat, didn't say anything as she kept her eyes fixed on the road. Having gotten back from the hospital after the incident in Bastogne, Twilight returned as a sergeant for 2nd squad after learning that Peter won't be back for very long. She once almost tried to fight her way out and classified as AWOL when she'd learned her friends has gone on to capture Foy without her. She had desperately wanted to get back to fighting but never realizing that once she gets back, she'll be commanding a squad that she hardly knew. She now knows how Red feels.

"Is something bothering you, darling?" Rarity asked again, noticing Twilight worried look.

After a moment of silence, Twilight replied back with a heavy sighs. "When we were back in Moremelon, I've said things. I'd told everypony that Marsh and Friar are going to bite it and it happened just like that. I was trying to point out a hole in our unit but I didn't mean it to say it so… cruel."

"I get your point." Says Jasper, who is sitting next to Rarity. "It could've happened to some people who thought that their buddies are going to buy the farm. It's just hindsight."

"But it didn't make any much of a difference." Says Twilight, who is now depressed. "I know that I shouldn't by saying things when you're about to embark one of the toughest fight in the war. I feel like I'm the one who killed them."

Sitting in the passenger seat, Red looks out from his side and saw three stallion on the side of the road lending against a hood of a jeep and were watching them as they past by.

Why are Marsh, Friar and LaRoach staring at him?

The sky seems to be dimmer as Jasper said to Twilight, "Maybe you should talk to Campbell."

"He wouldn't talk." Twilight pointed out.

"But he can listen."

After Jasper made his suggestion, they came to a halt on a crossroad. In front of them is a moving convoy that are heading west; supplies trucks, tanks and infantry are moving in a slow pace as if they were defeated in battle.

The other jeeps stopped behind them as Twilight shifted into parked gear and lean back against her seat while everyone else waits for the long convoy to pass.

His head is still fills with thoughts as Red watches the convoy rolls by when a soldier stop in front of them and turn to face them.

Grim.

Red feel a cold chill running down his spine as he look back then turn to see if any one of his squad-mates see him. None of them seem to notice the dead soldier.

Red look at Grim again then close his eyes, wishing for him to disappear. When he opens his eyes, two more soldiers appear on either side of Grim.

Allen and Garnett.

The two soldiers that died from a failed flanking attack back at the Canterlot region. The deaths of the two soldiers that nobody knows except for Applejack, Fluttershy and himself.

The three soldiers standing before him all have bullets wounds and bloody marks on the days they'd died.

It's the secret that Red can no longer hold. He has to tell everyone the truth.

The trio is still standing there as Red looks over his shoulder and announces, "There's something else. Something… that I've been holding on to for a very long time. And you'll not going to like it."

Taken by surprise, Jasper and Rarity looks at each other then back at Red.

"What is it?" Rarity asked, curious.

Red looks back at the dead soldiers, then close his eyes, telling them the memory of that fateful day…

Saint Come-du-Mont

June 8

0830 hours

After he ordered his squad to stay where they are in the middle of a road, Red slowly walked towards Fluttershy who is down on her hind legs, crying silently as the bodies of Allen and Garnett lays behind her, along with three dead Moratins soldiers.

Red place down his gun next to him as he kneels in front of Fluttershy. When he did so, he looked back to make sure none of their team-mates are coming any closer.

"I'm so sorry." Fluttershy whispered as she sobbed without looking up.

With grief in his eyes, Red whispered to her, "Fluttershy… what's happened?"

Fluttershy looks up at him in tears then glanced to her right as she sees something.

Red followed her gaze and noticed three soldiers walking towards them…

 **Ten minutes earlier**

"This is stupid, we should head back." Allen said to Garnett as they are walking towards a road after Ace order them to flank the barn.

Looking around him, Garnett realized that he have no idea where he's going so he questioned Allen, "Um… which way is back again?"

"The back your back is facing."

They reach the road when Fluttershy whispered from behind, "But Ace said-,"

Without allowing her to finish, Allen spun around on her and shouted like he was annoyed, "Jesus, Fluttershy! Are you and Ace married? Do you guys shared the same cottage in the summer?"

Fluttershy flinched as Garnett walked up a bit then stopped. "Uh… guys?"

Fluttershy sank back then said to Allen in a quiet voice, "Well um… you see…

I...I do lived in a cottage but um… living with Ace is not according to my lifestyle."

"And what is that suppose to mean?" Allen said, angrily.

Garnett rushes back and pushes Allen back. "Hey! Leave her alone, will ya?"

"Leave her alone?" Allen said frustrated. "What do you mean, 'leave her alone'? I don't see shit on why we have to bring someone who didn't kill anyone yet!"

"You know, we were doing just fine on this attack when you decided you screw it up!" When he said the last word out loud, Garnett pushes Allen and Allen pushes back and snapped at him with a glare, "Why are you blaming it on me? You're the one who screwed it up first."

"No, you did it."

"No you!"

"You!"

Before any of them could argue any farther, a shot rang out and a single bullet zipped past them. When the shot happened, the two soldiers were taken by surprise and turn to see Fluttershy pointing her rifle at them. Fluttershy is also shocked on what she just did.

Allen slowly turned towards her and said to her, "Fluttershy, put the gun down."

Fluttershy fired at the ground in front of Allen, which sent him flying back to the ground.

"Jesus, Fluttershy!" Garnett shouted, alarmed.

Fluttershy suddenly realized what she is doing so she dropped her rifle to the ground. After the gun made a loud clatter, they could all hear Moratins voices coming from the other side of the hedge.

"Shit." Garnett muttered as he turned towards the voices. He took out a .45 he was carrying then quickly look around and yelled, "Fluttershy, Allen! Get the fu-,"

Right when he turned back around, a rifle cracked from behind the hedge and a bullet struck right in the middle of Garnett forehead, killing him instantly.

After watching his best friend getting killed, Allen rolled to his side and screamed, "No!"

He quickly got up and ran towards the end of the hedgerow when a Moratin rifleman appeared around the corner. He was about to aim and fire when Allen quickly took out his combat knife and jabbed it into the Moratin throat. He was about to retract it when another one appeared on his left and shot him in the stomach. Allen fell backward and hit the ground with the thud as he grasped his stomach then make a hasty crawl back to his rifle.

The Moratin followed him and stand by his dead partner and was shooting at Allen. Bullets kicked up dirt around the wounded soldiers as he is gasping for air when he reached his rifle. He grabbed it on spun around on the ground, facing the Moratin, and fired at him, making every shot count as he gritted his teeth.

After he killed him, a third Moratin appeared behind his two dead companion and attempt to shoot Allen but his rifle is jammed. When he know that he can't get it to work, he dropped his gun and kneel in front of Allen with his hooves raised, pleading in German not to kill him.

Allen looks at the crying Moratin then at Garnett, who is laying dead on his side. After all they'd been through, fighting side-by-side and not letting each other get killed, Garnett is dead because of this crying bastard.

So he made his choice.

Allen aimed at the Moratin and shot him in the chest, watching him fall to his side.

Standing just behind Allen, Fluttershy was shocked and paralyzed by the whole event.

She then took off her helmet when Allen lays flat on the ground and looks at Fluttershy, showing grief in his eyes as he choked out,

"Fluttershy… I'm sorry."

Then he died.

Not wanting to take this anymore, Fluttershy looked up at the sky and cried out, "Red!"

After she told him what happened, Red didn't say anything at first then he brought his face closer to Fluttershy and said to her in a low voice, "Fluttershy, don't tell anyone of what you just told me."

"But why?" Fluttershy choked out in tears.

Red looked at her straight in the eyes as he replied with a stone face. "Because they'll kill you."

Without saying anymore, Red grabbed his gun, got up and walked back to his squad, who are waiting for him to tell him what's happened.

Instead he passed all of them with a word, "She didn't see anything."

None of them say anything except for Applejack and Rainbow who looked at each other then back at Fluttershy, who is silently sobbing.

 **AN: Well, that pretty much how they died. It been two years for me to finally get to this part [I think] but at least the truth have been reveal.**

 **In my opinion, it was Fluttershy fault for getting the soldiers killed because she gives away their position. And why did Red tell her to not tell anyone about this because he feared that they will kill her for letting them die.**

 **It had been a while now since I posted the last chapter but I do wish the help from writers out there to give me any advice to get this story running smoothly.**

 **See you on the other side!**


	9. Operation FUBAR

Chapter 30

 _OPERATION FUBAR_

 _The Battle for the Crystal Mountain is nearly at its end until new threats arose. Ever since Bastogne and Foy, the Moratins forces had increased their numbers ever since. The question is; where are they coming from?_

 _That was soon answered when Intelligence and the EIC had discovered that a mare knows the exact location of where the Moratin portal is at. But later on she was captured and was put in a remote location where no one could find her, not until we know where she was taken at. That brass wanted us to conduct a search-and-rescue mission to get this mare out so she could give us the information we needed._

 _Damn… why did I have to tell everyone about Allen and Garnett deaths!_

 _-RED-_

December 31

Somewhere in the Crystal Mountain

1730 hours

"Alright listen up, we got a twofold objectives here," Ace explain to those around him that are getting ready to storm a farm not far from them, "One, we'll cross the bridge and that out the damage tower so we could use it as a firing position. That will be Twilight squad." He nodded to Twilight who nodded while her squad behind her clutch to their weapons.

"While that's taken care of," Ace continues as he pointed towards Red next to him, "Red and my squads will storm the area and extract the hostage. Remember, no prisoners."

When he finish, Applejack raised her hoof in response to the briefing, "Sir?"

"Yes?" Ace said, looking at Applejack as she replies, "I was wondering, what is our extraction point once we completed out objectives?"

"There will be no extraction point," said Ace. "Once we get the hostage, I'll launch a green flare into the air which will signal our mission a success. Once that happens, a relief force will come by, get us out of there and we'll be home free. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, remember, no prisoner and let's make this nice and easy."

When he dismissed the briefing, all squads went to their assigned positions next to the bridge. On the bridge are two Moratins sentries pacing back and forth, unaware of enemies soldiers.

In addition to this covert operation, the Allied soldiers were equipped with com-link earpieces so they could keep in touch with each other.

Standing on top of the frozen ice under the bridge, Ace led his squad silently up the side of the bridge and waited patiently while a wind blew in his direction, trailing along snows. On the other side of the bridge, Red's squad went up the side of the bridge and waited for the sentries to be taken out.

Back at the starting point at the foot of the bridge, Twilight's squad lays at their positions as two of their marksmen place their crosshair on each other their with their silencer Intervention sniper rifle and waited for a word from Ace to fire.

For Twilight, this moment seem like a very long time in a cold weather like this when suddenly over her com-link, Ace said in a low voice, "Mark."

In a split second, the two sentries on the bridge both receive a direct headshot through the side of their head. The snow of the ground had softened their fall with a soft "thud" which won't be heard to about a few feet.

A two-story building next to the bridge which houses a dozen Moratins didn't make any noise as Red and Ace got on the bridge and drag the two bodies off the bridge and onto the frozen river. When that's done, Ace went back on the bridge and signal Twilight to get across while his squad prepares to storm the building and kill whoever in it by going through the front door.

When Twilight and the rest of her squad dash across the bridge and head toward the tower next to the compound and across the road from them.

Ace switches on his com-link and order Red to move his squad to the back door of the building.

"Copy that, moving." Came a reply and Red's squad could be seem through the spiraling snow to the back of the building. When he got there, Red look through the window and could see about six Moratins sitting in the living room and he found a stairway next to the door that he is about to enter through.

Thinking quickly to avoid friendly fire, Red order his squad to set up outside the house while he, Discord and Rarity will take care the inside business. Without questioning Red, the rest obey his command and wait out while Red told his team to head directly for the stairway.

Outside the front door, Ace second-in-command put his hoof on the doorknob and quickly thrust it open and rushes inside, follow by other. The Moratins inside were taken by surprise and were gunned down.

While the carnage occurred, those who survived rush for the back door but were killed by Red and his team who were coming in. As soon as they got in, they rushes up the stair to clear out the second story filled with sleeping Moratins.

After killing all of them in their sleep, they went back downstairs to meet up with Ace and his squad who is outside with the rest of Red's squad.

After setting down in a sandbag emplacement next to the base of the house, Red whispers to Ace next to him. "What's taking them so long? Have you tried raising Twilight through the com?"

Ace shook his head in response to the question. "No. But I'm guessing she forgot to turn it on."

After leading her squad across the bridge and towards the tower, Twilight commanded her squad to position themselves on either side of the tower door. When they're ready, she reaches the door and turns the doorknob but the door won't bulge, due to the freezing temperature that froze the hinges in places.

After a panicking moment, she could hear Corrion whisper next to her, "Is everything alright, Sarge?"

"Yeah, everything is under control." Twilight whisper back by pushing against the door with the side her body. "It just that the door won't open."

After a few moment of effort, Twilight turns around toward the building and she could barely see Ace's squad storming through the building and here she is, trying to open the damn door.

She focuses back to the door, mutter, "Buck this." then turns and buck the whole door down to the floor. Not only Twilight bucks the door down, but whoever inside the tower also heard it.

Not far from the door, three Moratins soldiers are sitting around a crate, playing a card game when they turned to the sound of the door breaking down and saw a group of ponies wearing kakis uniforms staring at them.

They hesitated for a moment then rush to their gun, only to get mowed down.

"Up the stair!" Paige shouted, waving at the stairway that led to the top of the tower. Half of the squad will go up while the other half covered them from the ground level.

After barking out orders, Twilight joined those who will be going up to the top of the tower.

At the top of the tower, a Moratin Colonel was staring intently at the trapdoor with four other Moratin infantrymen as they trained their guns at whoever might be coming up from it.

The Colonel order is to defend the tower at all costs when he was startled by a door breaking down below him.

Rushes of hoof step are coming up the stairs when he ordered his radioman to contact the general who is inside the barn that they are under attack. While he is attempting to do so, the trapdoor sprang open and, when the figure come through, the Colonel's men shot living hell out of him.

The Colonel order for a cease fire and when the firing ceased, lying against the wall is one of the men the Colonel sent down earlier to investigate what's going on. The Colonel knew what is happening.

All there is now is silence and the Colonel swears he could hear his own heart pumping against his chest. Blood pounded in his ear when he heard an unmistakable sound of a pin coming off and a pallet grenade was thrown through the trapdoor in the room where the Colonel and his men is at.

With his eyes widen in fear, the Colonel shouted grenade in German and dove for cover behind boxes covered in metal plating at a corner.

The grenade exploded, shooting out hundreds of tiny balls everywhere, tearing through flesh and bones of all the Colonel's men.

After the explosion and the sound of clacking when the balls bounces off the boxes, the Colonel looks out and saw his men, including his radio operator, all dead.

That's when a parapony climb through the trapdoor.

When he first saw him, the Colonel took out his pistol from his holster and fired three shots at the parapony in the chest

After he killed him, the Colonel ran over to his radio is, checking that it's still working, and tried to contact the General. He was about hit to transmit when he felt a bayonet jabbed into his bottom back. He let out a sharp cry of pain when it thrust out.

The Colonel spun around and looks directly into the eyes of a purple-haired mare holding a blood-encrusted bayonet strapped to the muzzle of her M-14.

The Colonel realized that he at the mercy of the princess of Equestria. The Princess didn't say anything. She lifted her blood-covered bayonet into the air and thrust it down into the Colonel throat.

The bayonet was pulling out from him and he fell to his side on his floor, still alive but dying from his own blood as it clogged up inside his throat.

After she pulled out bayonet out, Twilight reaches over and turns the radio then sat down on a chair and wipes her forehead with her hoof.

Exhausted, Twilight watches her team set up positions when she looks at the dead parapony who was killed by a Moratin officer. In fact, Twilight was suppose to be dead when this pony, Steve, volunteered to take her place and be the first person through the trapdoor after Twilight thrown the grenade.

All Twilight feels right now is guilt and despair. _So that what survivor guilt feels like_ , she thought when she remembered that she was suppose to let Ace knows that the tower has been taken.

She reaches for her left ear and presses the button on the com-link. After she realized she's been listening to static, she forgotten that she turn her com-link off.

 _Why is I'm forgetting everything?_ She asked herself as she turns the power on.

After a few minutes when Ace made his suggestion, Red was tired of waiting for Twilight to announce the tower is secure.

 _What's taken them so long?_ Red asked himself so he turned to Ace, "I'm going over there." He was about to get up and rush toward the tower when he heard his com-link click and a sound of a voice with sorrow filled through the air, "Tower's secure."

Red stop on his track and sighed with relief. Next to him, Ace got up and waved toward the farmhouse with a word, "Advance."

As they got up and start moving, Red speak into his mike, "Twilight, what's took you guys so long?" He waited until he got the feedback; "Having trouble getting in here but we're alright."

"Have you been crying?"

There was a moment of silence until it picked up again. "No. Why would I?"

Red didn't answer to the question. It kinda gets emotional to the girls every time they get into a firefight. It's the good thing that they have each other.

"Doesn't matter." Said Red as he looks towards the squad medic. "I'm sending Fluttershy up there." He stopped Fluttershy on her track and told her to go to the tower.

When she took off, Red is sensing nothing could get any better is Peter was here as he reaches those who are crouched behind a barbed wire emplacement.

Beside the farmhouse, there is a big shed that houses two half-trucks and five ground machinegun sandbag-emplacement at every corner, plus the barbed-wire that encircled the whole area.

After he examined the area, Ace turns toward his men and whisper high enough for them to hear, "Wire cutters!" Two men were brought forth with equipments and begin to cut through the wire.

As they are working cutting through the first layers of the razor-sharp wire, Rarity whispers to Ace with concern, "How long will the Moratins think we're here?"

Ace shrugged. "Don't know. But it won't be for long."

Inside the farmhouse, General von Pierce, commanding officer of the 5th Intelligence Corp, is growing worrisome when Colonel Roenne stopped transmitting through the radio.

This is strange. Roenne had been giving him daily reports almost every three hours but not today. Keeping that hostage that hostage in an underground room so that the Allies wouldn't know wasn't his idea but his boss.

Pierce look out of a window towards the tower then said to his radio operator behind him, "Get me on the horn to Roenne." While the operator is doing so, Pierce walks over to his desk in the middle of the room, open a drawer and take out a pistol, strapped it on his leather-covered holster on his hip then put on his well trimmed black officer cap on his head.

When he finished, his radio operator reported that no one is picking up on the other line.

"Then get me to those who are guarding the bridge now!" Pierce snapped then walked over to the window and scanned the area. While scanning, he saw two dark figures making way through the barbed-wired across the courtyard from where he's at.

Pierce peer closer at the figures when something hit him in a panicking rate.

"Americans!" he screamed as he spun around to those who are in the room with him. "Sound the alarm!"

Moments later, the sirens in the compound pierce the air and searchlights came on around the farmhouse. One of the searchlights caught the two paraponies who were halfway through the barbed-wired. Two machineguns on top of the house spotted the ponies and open fire on them, riddling them to pieces.

After they were killed by machine gun fire, Ace cursed then shouted, "Let's blow this to pieces."

A blizzard started and is getting worse as they attempted to blow the wires apart. Inside the tower, Twilight watches the scene unfold through her infrared-scope on her M-14. Then, she spotted six heated targets approaching the barbed-wired.

"Six tangos coming in!" she said to her marksmen around her and gives the order, "Fire at will!"

After setting down the explosives, Ace rushes to the side to get out of the blast zone when he sees six figures coming right at him from the other side of the barbed-wired. Then, they started to drop one by one by Twilight's team.

"There you go." Twilight voice came through the air after the last Moratin dropped to the ground.

Ace smile and reply back with thank then shouted to those to get to cover.

As soon as they got to cover, the ground erupted and pieces of snow and wire were thrown into the air. Ace looks up the see the barbed-wired is gone with a huge gap in front of them.

"Let's go!" someone shouted and they all got up and begin to get into the compound when more Moratins appeared, soon causing a massive firefight.

Bullets were flying everywhere and ponies are getting hit or blown by grenades as Ace ran across the battlefield and got to the shed to use the halftracks as cover. He reaches there and watches Jasper loading his rockets into his bazooka and aim at one of the machine guns atop of the farmhouse, destroying it by hitting the top of the roof which fall onto the machine gunners, crushing them to death.

After that was taken care of, Ace, followed by Red, Rarity, Jasper and two other soldiers, got inside the farmhouse and begin taking out the Moratins inside.

"We need to find the hostage." Ace said to those who were with him after coming out of the living room. "I want this damn house search from top to bottom."

They all fan out and begin looking through every room when Rarity went to the back of the house toward the barn that was attached to the house. On the way there, she heard movement from a room she did not check. She opens the door that led into a bedroom and discovers that no one is there. She was about to leave when he heard a small child sneeze from behind the bed.

Rarity went over and was right that it was a small child, frighten from all the shooting that is taking place outside. She have white a mane and coat and she seem to be blind when her blue eyes is darting from one place to another.

"Hello." She said to the little pony.

Entering the barn and taking out a few Moratins that were stationed there, Red and Ace found a trench and at the end of it is a heavy wooden door.

They went to it and tried to push it open, but it was sealed tight.

"Should we blow it open?" Red asked when they stepped away from the door.

"Nahh, too risky." Said Ace then he got an idea. "But I got something in mind."

"Like what?" Without answering, Ace took Red's Thompson then fired at the door four corners. When he ran out of ammo, Ace went over to the door and bucks it down.

"That's what." Ace finally said and gives the Thompson back to Red.

On the other side of the door is a tunnel. Red and Ace gives each other a quizzical look then went down all the way and turn around a corner and stop at another door.

They could clearly hear rustling and a sound of a gun cocking as whomever on the other side is getting ready to fight. The two soldiers' stands on either side of the door, nodded at each other and kicked the door open. They rush in and soon found themselves in a Mexican standoff with two Moratin infantrymen and an officer.

They were clearly about to execute the hostage who strapped to a chair and have a sack-bag on her head when Red and Ace barge in.

"If you shoot, I'll shoot her!" the officer shouted and pushes his gun on the mare temple. The officer has a leather-covered holster, a trimmed black officer cap and a face that you don't want to mess with.

They were shouted at the two stallions who barged in to drop their weapons. They continue to shout at each other until Red and Ace did as ordered. After they put their guns down, the two brothers put their robotics hands on their side-arms and as quick as a flash, withdraw them and each fired at the two Moratin infantrymen. The officer was stunned and was about to pull the trigger when Red and Ace fired at him in a split-second.

The powerful slug hit him in the face and was forced backward to the ground as the fired at the ceiling.

After taking him out, the brothers picked up their guns and went over to stand by the hostage.

"Now, let's see who is behind this mask." Red said as he grab the top of the bag and yank it up. When they took the bag off, they couldn't believe it!

"Trixie?"

The white-haired blue coat mare sitting in the chair shook her hair a bit to smooth it out after it was crumpled up inside the bag. "Yes, it is I, the Great and Powerful Trixie! Would like to get out of this chair now." The unicorn said as she struggled against the rope that tied her to the chair.

When they untied her, Trixie got up and immediately took an interest when she looks at her two saviors. "My, my. Trixie like the way you two looks!" she exclaimed happily.

Red and Ace looks at each other when the ground above shook. Clouds of dirt fall from the ceiling and the light bulb flicker when the ground shook.

Red said in an alarming voice. "That can't be good."

The ground shook again as Ace shouted, "Out of here! Move!" and lead them out of the tunnel and into the barn.

They got out of the trench when two of Ace's men came toward them from the house door, shouting, "Take cover! There is a counterattack!" The side of the barn exploded, sending everyone to the ground.

Ace got up and saw two of his men sprawling on the ground, dead.

"Fuck!" he screamed then went into the house, where he find the rest of his squad and Red's squad shooting at outside from windows, doors and a giant hole in the front of the house. He even saw a little mare huddled against a wall in the living room with Rarity, crying. Ace has seen her before but couldn't remember where.

Ace went to the front of the house and look out from one of the window. There he spotted five tanks and about a company-size of infantry coming right at them. Then, Ace asks for a head count.

"There's only sixteen of us left, sir." Leo said, who is part of his squad. "I don't know how 2nd squad is handing out."

That when Twilight and the remains of her squad, including Fluttershy, went through the side of the house.

"What happened?" Ace asked her as soon as she got in.

"Not good." She finally said after she was led to the dining room and sat down on the floor. "We barely made it out of there alive. Now, there are just only six of us."

"Jesus!" Ace mutter then went to the front.

After he left Twilight went to the living room and found the kid and Rarity. Rarity saw her first and said to her, "She'd been crying."

"Yes, I can see that." Twilight looks at the kid and asked with a surprise look, "Is that… Snowdrop?"

The kid looks up from Rarity shoulder and sniffed. "Yes?"

"My Celestia! How did she get here? She was alive thousands of years ago!" Soon that was answered when the house rocked by the tank shells.

Red came in and told Twilight and Rarity to get back to fighting while Fluttershy takes care of Snowdrop and Trixie.

When Trixie came in, the girls shouted, "Trixie?" in unison.

"Trixie want to know what's going on here?" she asked, confused.

"We're here to save to you, darling!" Rarity replied when a tank shell crashes through the window next to her and out of the other window at the dining room. They all looks out of the shattered window and saw a tank pointing it barrel at them.

"Move!" Red screamed and grabbed Trixie by the scruff and the other hurried out of the room when the whole living room exploded behind them.

Smoke covered them as Red coughed and the saw the room they were once in before gone. "We got another breach in the house!" Red yelled and told Twilight to get Snowdrop and Trixie into the dining room.

Meanwhile, the rest are keeping the infantry are bay while Jasper and some demo ponies are trying to knock out the tanks.

Discord and Spike were shooting when Discord ask him, "What is that literary term when everything is not so good?"

"FUBAR?" Spike replied that make Discord exclaimed, "Yes, that's it!" he turns to the other and screamed, "Its FUBAR!"

"You don't even know what that mean!" Ace yelled back when Red came up to his side and said to him, "I kinda agree with Discord here. It is FUBAR."

Ace replies back with a nod. "Well, I'm beginning to think its TARFU."

"Okay, while we're screaming around, what's the plan?"

Ace think for a bit then got another idea. "Get a few men and follow me."

After he did as ordered, Red, Discord, Rarity and a soldier named Dawson went to the barn and out of the side door. A couple of Moratins were at an emplacement when they arrived and fired at them.

While under fire, Ace barked out orders, "Suppressive fire! Dawson, with me!" Under covering fire, Ace and Dawson went to the space between the barn and the emplacement and fired a small rocket into the air. When it reaches to about 200 feet into the air, it exploded into a green flare which lighted up the whole area.

When that happened, Dawson tossed a grenade into the emplacement, killing all the Moratins. But then, as they were heading back to the barn, machine gun bullets rippled through the side of Dawson body. He screams and falls to the ground.

"No!" Ace yelled and shot a Moratin who came around a corner.

With Red at his side, they were both dragging Dawson back to the barn when an explosion erupted between them. They were pinned to the ground but were having trouble getting back up because of the concussion.

Rarity and Discord went to help them up when a tank appears, firing at them from behind.

The tank was about to fire it main gun again when a bazooka round punch through the front armor and killed the gunner. Those who survived from the tank all turn around and saw Jasper holding his bazooka up, smoke coming out from the tube.

He lowers it down and smiles at them when he was blown into the house by another explosion. After he flew inside the house, Jasper got up, unscathed and still couldn't believe he is still alive.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed to Spike and a few other soldiers who are all wide-eyes when Jasper flew in. "I'm like Superman or something!" And a bullet hit him in the shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Ahh! Fuck!" he yelled after getting hit. "Not again!" he picked up a dead pony rifle and fired it one-handed at the incoming Moratins.

Out in the distance, they could hear more tank engines coming in.

Applejack was the first one to hear it when she ran out of ammo for the .30 cal. And start using her revolver.

"Aw, come on!" she said when she first heard it. "How many more are there?"

"Are you sure?" Pinkie said next to her who is not even doing anything for the past hours. "They could be ours."

"How d'you know? You're ain't doing anything cept' throwing Boneless at them when it ain't gonna work!"

"What?" Pinkie complained, holding the rubber chicken up. "It work since the beginning of this series."

"Say what now?" Right when Applejack finish her sentence, all the Moratin tanks suddenly explodes and all the infantry retreat from the area.

Moments later, three Sherman Firefly tanks and Allied infantry show up in front of them, shooting at the retreating Moratins.

The ponies in the house walk outside and greeted their relief as they cheered for their victory.

"It's 'bout time they showed up." Ace said to Red as they walked out of the house. "We nearly got killed in there."

Red agreed. "Once again, we cheated death."

"Captain Ace!"

They turn stimulatory and found Colonel Sink standing with ease as he look at the smoldering ruin of the tanks and bodies around him. "After raising hell of this place, you boys did a fine job of getting the hostage out."

Ace replied back as he shrugged. "Well there's more to it and beside, we manage to do this nice and easy."

Red added with a remark, "Well sir, this couldn't get any better than Bastogne and Hell's Highway altogether. It's FUBAR."

"FUBAR it is." Sink nodded then look at Trixie and Snowdrop who are with Twilight and the other, calming each other after what they'd been through.

Sink watches Trixie and Snowdrop board a jeep for a ride to Bastogne.

"I hope that mare have a lot of explaining to do."

 **AN: This chapter is based on this mission from Medal of Honor: European Assault and I did put a lot of effort and fine-timing to make this battle surreal.**

 **If any of you notice, Snowdrop is a fan-made character but I felt like putting her in for some reason. All context and characters are copyrighted and belong to it original owners. So, from now on, I just going to switch between characters in mid-chapter like the one you see above. The word 'FUBAR' is a military terms that means 'Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition'. I usually used this before a take a chapter test or can't even open a pickle jar. 'TARFU' means 'Things Are Really Fucked Up' and there are more military terms that you can find out there so you could use it in your everyday lives, just don't use it frequently okay? Especially near a teacher or parents then if an old war veteran hears it, he'll give you a thumb-up and say, "Damn right it is." Happened to me a lot.**

 **I guess I'll see you on the other side!**


	10. The Last Battle

Chapter 31

 _THE LAST BATTLE_

January 2nd

50 miles north of Bastogne

0733 hours

It had always snowed the day before which makes the white forest more beautiful. The silence of the forest lingers on until the sound of a rumbling convoy could be heard from a paved road in the middle of the forest.

Trucks and tanks are all in single file as they move slowly on the road while foot soldiers spread out on either side of them. Their destination is unknown as elements of the 1st Tank Battalion of the 2nd Armored Division and a company of the 101st Airborne was mixed together and was sent out on a recon to locate a portal that the Moratins been using to get into Equestria. The end of the war drew close as excitement grew after Trixie told the Army Intelligence in Bastogne the location of this portal and who actually brought the war here.

A few tanks and a company of paratroopers is not a lot of firepower for this mission but there should be plenty of supports once the fight gets too heavy. There are other combat units in the area and best yet, the sky is clear of cloud so the assault force can call in air support at any time. As the tanks keep rolling along and the sound of the paratroopers humming their favorite tunes, many of them listen to the horizon and realized that there are no more sounding of the booming artilleries in the distance. Since New Year, the Allies had finally cleared the rest of the world, including the human world, free from Moratin control, which means that this is truly the final battle of this war.

Sitting in Venda with Ace driving, Red sat in the passenger seat and examines the forest around him. But he is usually into deep thoughts. He hadn't talked to his squad that much during New Year. Many of them are still in shock after they learned the truth of Allen's and Garnett's. Every time they're in a room or place and they were talking about something and as Red walked into the room they're in, they stopped talking. All Red could get is silence and the harsh glare from Applejack. As soon as he left the room, he could hear them talking again, this time quietly.

Maybe they stop considering him as a friend since they lost their trust completely to him. Red wanted to do something to bring them back but how?

While thinking, he spotted a tree on his right that has a single flower blooming on a branch. For the first time in this world, Red thought about home.

And his dad.

Red places his hoof on the handle of his dad pistol that is safely strapped in his shoulder holster. He thought of all the people who had taken hold of its and had died from it, like the curse.

He took his hoof off the handle and look behind him to see Pinkie and Rarity sleeping.

Last night patrol must have overtaken them as Red turn back to the front and said to Ace next to him, "Hey Ace?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't we still find it shocking that it was actually him that brought the war here?"

Ace doesn't need an explanation for this. He already knows what he's talking about. He and Red had been finding the man who brought the war for nearly two years. He was pretty much the reason why Ace gone evil and tried to take over Equestria.

"Yeah." Ace replied without taking his eyes off the road. He was about to say something when a tank that was leading the convoy exploded, following by two trucks right behind it.

The shout of ponies and the cries of the wounded fill the air as tank rounds exploded all around them, follow by mortar shells.

When the first explosion happened, Ace and Red covered their eyes from the blast and immediately jump out from the jeep, same goes for Pinkie and Rarity when they woke up and dive out to their side.

"Over there!" a pony shouted, pointing across a clearing at a group of Moratin tanks, plus machine gun nests.

Many of the surviving Allied tanks in the convoy went into formation to make a counterattack but the result end in a failure as all of them erupted into flames when 88mm shells ripped into them like paper.

"Get your asses moving!" Colonel Sink yelled at a group of nearby soldiers that are taking cover in a ditch. "There ain't no point for retreating now! Get up and take care of those bastards!" When he got the line moving, Sink turn and spotted Ace directing the surviving tanks and soldiers into a flank attack.

After he got his attention by waving and shouting, Sink waited as Ace got close to him. "Captain Ace," Sink began as he pointed at the line of Moratin tanks. "I need you to take out their defenses and whatever the hell they have over there. If they're here, then we must be close to their portal by now."

"Yes sir." Ace response with a nod but before he could move, Sink said again, "2nd Armored are sending their tanks east from here and we need to clear a way for them."

When he said this, an Abram tank drove in front of them and it fired it bow gun at a trench full of Moratin infantry.

Ace watches this then said to Sink, "Any word for air supports?"

"Ain't know what they're up to or if I do, I don't give a damn." Sink replied clearly with his southern accent. "If there are any means for contact, find them and get them to the front now!"

"Yes sir." Ace said and went to collect a few of his men then lead them direction of a dug-out trench on the left side of the clearing. They're nearly halfway across when the Moratins launch a massive counterattack with tanks and infantry. Ace and his men jump into the trench without haste then meet up with Red and squad who were having a brief firefight with a group of Moratins inside a bunker.

"Applejack! I need suppressive fire now!" Red shouted as he issued the command. While Applejack and Pinkie are suppressing, Red spotted Ace coming to him and waved him over with a word, "What's up?"

"You got a radio operator? Mine dead." Ace told him as soon as he reaches him.

Red replied back with a cocked eyebrow. "Does it look like I have one? The last time I have a radio operator, she got shot by a sniper."

"What a coincidence. Well, who the hell have one?" Ace said in a frustrated voice.

Red thought for a moment then said to him, "You got to check in with Twilight. She got Paige."

"Where the hell is she?"

"Beats me." Red said then turns to and asked Rarity nest to him. "Rarity, where's Twilight?"

"I believe she's on the right side of the clearing." Rarity answered back with Ace yelling, "Are you fucking kidding me? I was there just a minute ago!"

"Excuse me! She was to be everything on the right!" Rarity said with a smile, "Get it? 'Everything on the right'?"

"Boo! Hiss!" Pinkie bellowed behind her as she and Applejack are busy reloading the machine gun then resume firing on the bunker.

"Well, there you have it." Red said to Ace. "Anything else?"

Ace shook his head. "Nope, that's all." He gesture his men behind him to follow and together got out of the trench into the open. As he is doing so, Red ordered his Assault team to charge and destroy the bunker under covering fire. When that been issued, Rarity, Discord, Spike and Jasper charged toward either side of the bunker and, when reaches there toss their grenades through the opening, letting the inside explode into dust.

After that was settled, Red brought up his machine gun team and, altogether with his squad, repeat the same procedures with the next bunker, slowly as they advanced but were getting closer to their objective at every second as the Allies repeal the Moratin counterattack.

During Red's squad attack on the bunker, Ace and his two men were dashing across the clearing again when one of the men was shot through the side of his chest.

When that happened, Ace fired at the direction of the shot then yelled at his remaining comrade to get moving, who was busy checking his buddy. When he realized that he's dead, he got up, only to get shot in the side of the head by rifle fire.

Ace didn't say anything as he look at his two dead men then pressed forward toward Twilight's squad who are moving along the edge of the clearing while ducking behind covers.

On the way there, Ace asked himself, _why every time I go into combat, I always get my men killed? Why couldn't I be more like Red?_ Usually, Red always stays with his squad and uses fire and maneuver as a team while Ace doesn't care and uses run-and-gun tactic.

When he got to Twilight's position, he found her crouching on the ground so he literally dolphin dive next to her, causing the snow to splash up around him.

"Was that really necessary?" Twilight asked as she wiped snow from her face.

"Doesn't matter. Where's Paige?" Ace asked.

"He got separated during the ambush." Twilight started to explain when an explosion nearly knocks her helmet off. She redirects it back into place as she continues on, "But I think he's somewhere out there." They quickly press their heads against the ground when machine gun bullets kicked up mound of snow around them, soon follow by a mortar round.

After it stops, Ace turn to Twilight and said to her, "Well find him and get him over here!"

When he finish, he got up then retreated back to where he came from. Twilight watches him go then yelled at her squad, "Let's go!" then advance towards a group of trees. While moving, Corrion patted her in the shoulder then pointed, "Sarge! There's Paige!"

Twilight follow his gaze and soon saw Paige seeking shelter inside a bomb crater not far from there, but it on the middle of the battlefield.

When she spotted him, Twilight ordered her squad to find covers and keep firing while she go and get Paige. When the order was given, her squad found some covers and fire at a trench full of Moratins. Twilight ran to the side toward Paige.

"Paige!" she yelled as she run toward him, keeping her head low as well as jumping over dead bodies and craters.

Paige heard her calling and waved at her. When Twilight was feet away from him, a mortar shell hit squarely on his position, sending up dust and snow high into the air.

The concussion almost knock Twilight off her hooves but she quickly regain her balance and jump into the crater where Paige once been.

Paige's lower half has been torn into two pieces but miraculously, the radio survived unscathed. Twilight, overcame with guilt and despair as she lost her fellow man, picked up the radio phone and begin to speak into it, "5-2, 5-2, this is Easy 3, do you read over?"

As she is waiting for a response from her call-sign, Twilight dared to look out of the crater and notice three Moratin tanks coming at her.

The radio responds with a crackle. "Easy 3, this is Darkshadow 4, what is your situation?"

"Requesting for some air support, mainly tank busters, over." Twilight replied quickly in a rapid tone, noticeably because of the advancing tanks.

"Roger that. Can see you on visual. Coming in low." Out from the sky, a P-51 Mustang flew over and dropped two bombs on the tanks, destroying them.

"Stand by while we clear out the rest." When she heard this, Twilight saw two F-22 fighter jets swoop over the Moratin lines, dropping napalms on their positions.

When the air strike is over, Twilight cheered when her radio picked up again. "All enemy neutralized. You are clear on a go, Easy-3. Be advised that two AC-130s are heading to your way."

"Thanks for the assistance, Darkshadow. Over and out." Twilight turn the radio off then say farewell to Paige and jump out of the crater to regroup with her squad.

With the line cleared, the Allies soldiers can now advance toward a hill that seem to have a spiral tower overhead, supposedly that the thing the Moratins was using for their portal. But overtime, the closer the Allied soldiers get to the hill, the more resistances that they have to face.

While running, Rarity tripped over something that she thought was a small tree stump but discovered it was actually frozen hoof, sticking out of the snow as if trying to reach to the sky above. Rarity got up and scanned the area around her, noticing gray bodies that were nearly stacked under the snow.

Most of them are decomposed as their white gaping faces were looking at the living, wishing for them to join the dead.

In the middle of the field, Red jumped over low-laying barbed wires with discarded bodies in them. He didn't realized what he's running through when he got around a huge black crater, a mortar shell landed in front of him, its concussion sent him flaying backward into the crater. He was slammed hard to the bottom of the crater.

With his back aching, he moans a bit then rolled to his side when he was looking eye-to-eye with Grim, lying dead next to him. His bloody face is still the same as his molten gut is spread out of his stomach onto the ground.

This horrifying experience still brought Red back to Knight Wood, where Grim first died.

Red snapped out of his flashback and quickly got back up to his hooves, when he did so, he realized that he's in a crater filled with dead bodies.

Each of the dead bodies is the one that died with him; Risnerv, Allen and Garnett, Angel, Marsh and LaRoach. He even sees Peter and Rainbow among, dead because he failed to protect them. A promise that he failed to carry out when the war get the best that led to the first man to die.

 _No, not now,_ he thought as he push the images away from his mind and eventually started to crawl to the top of the crater, _I got to keep moving._

Next to him, Twilight landed to his side and greeted him. When she did so, she looks around the crater and saw what inside the crater.

"They must have been here before we did." Twilight finally said when she focuses back to Red. "Those poor ponies."

Red didn't say anything. He looks back at the corpses and noticed that they don't have the faces of those he'd lost. Instead, their faces were strangers to him. He look at their patches and discovered they were from the 29th Infantry Division, the unit that were nearly destroyed when the offensive first begin back in December. But how did they get here?

"I'm betting they were here either they were pushing forward or got lost." Twilight said as she looks as the corpses again. "They shouldn't have died like that."

"We'll avenge them" Red said as he got up and made a dash out onto the field along with other ponies, passing craters, barbed wires and more bodies.

The funny thing that occurred to Red is that the battle that is taking place in the field reminds him of all the other places that he and the other charge in like Purple Heart Hill, the Son bridge, the Crystal City and Knight Wood. Out of all the places he'd been, there's nothing more to do than to run and hope for the best that you won't get hot by bullets and mortars.

The Allied soldiers are halfway there to the hill where the portal is but the only thing that stands between them is more trenches, bunkers, anti-tank guns, machine gun emplacements and other that could stop the incoming attackers.

Overhead, there is an ariel dogfight taking place in the sky where Allied planes are keeping the Moratin Air Force at bay and are preventing them from bombing the infantry below.

As the Allied soldiers are getting past the defenses, their numbers of their attacking force is decreasing rapidly and they will soon don't have enough ponies to continue any further.

Taking cover behind a concrete wall with half of her squad, Twilight quickly noticed that there are not enough ponies to in the assault force. The company is getting cut up bad.

Twilight looks in front of her and was trying to figure out what she could do next when Red stumble next to her, exhausted from all the running.

"When are we going to get more reinforcement? We're getting chewed up here!" Twilight asked once Red sat down to catch his breath.

"Don't know." Red panted as he is trying to cool himself down. "But I do hear that there are other companies attacking from the other side of the hill. How far do we need to go before we reach the hill?"

Twilight look over the cover, examine the clearing between her and the hill before turning back to report to Red, "We got like 700 yards to go. By the way, you stink."

"Like hell." Red nodded in agreement then his eyes went wide when he saw Ace coming at them, half of his body drenched in blood.

Twilight gasped when she saw him and saw to him, "Oh my Celestia! What happened to you?"

"You don't want to know." Ace said, wiping his eyes from dried blood with his sleeve. "Do we have enough guys to storm the hill?"

"Not fairly, no. We won't be able make it." Twilight was beginning to say when she was interrupted when the ground shaken under them by the rumbling sound of tanks.

When he look around, Corrion cried out, "Panzers!"

The wall that they were using as cover exploded into dust as a tank round hit it which also knocks those behind it to the ground.

Amazingly, they all survived the blast but the wall they were using was completely gone. Behind the cloud of dust, all they could see is the shadow of a Panzer tank approaching them.

Ear ringing, Red forced himself to get back up but he could sense if the world went dizzy for a moment when he heard Ace to get moving.

He saw a group of soldiers charged at the tank column when one of them exploded, his helmet sailed high into the air while his body transform into a cloud of blood.

His buddies, however, scurry away as fast as they can when their buddy exploded.

The tanks fan out, attacking the rest of them as one of the tanks erupted into a heap of flames as another suffered the same fate. The Moratin tanks started to retreat back when one of them reverse onto a trench and got stuck along with the trapped and terrified Moratins inside the trench. Of course, when the tank gets hit, the rest will die.

Taken by surprise, Red turn to his side and found a handful of Sherman Firefly, M1 Abram and tank destroyers, including more infantry units putting up their flanks. Not only that, one of the tanks look familiar to him so Red ran over there and was delighted when he meet the tank commander who just came out of his hatch.

"Richardson!"

"Ah, Red! It's good to see you again! Been saving your asses once more haven't I?"

"Damn right you did!" Red look at the hill then back at Richardson, "We could use some backup right now."

Richardson nodded at first then smile. "Glad we're on the same side."

For the first time, Red smiled a bit as he replied, "Let's roll." Then was about to move when the tank commander called out his name.

Red turn to see Richardson not smiling anymore. Instead, he fined him showing sadness on his face.

"Uh…Red?" Richardson began almost in a low voice but was clearly audible. "Sorry about your lad Peter."

Red smiled faded away at the name of Peter. He looks at the ground then at Richardson. Without saying anything, he turned from and walked away.

Richardson knows who Red feels about losing his comrades. It must of hurt a lot when you lost someone that you've consider as a family. Richardson crawl back inside his tank and ordered the tank forward, following the paratrooper into combat.

Thanks to additional support, the Allied can now keep moving and push the Moratins back. Fighting alongside with Richardson tank, 3rd squad are expertly taking out Moratins faster than ever more, but their onslaught came to an halt when a rocket slammed itself to the front armor of the tank, causing it to stop.

"Why Richardson's tank stopped?" Red asked then turns to his squad. "Give me some covering fire now!"

When Red ran to the disable tank, Applejack was setting up her machine gun when she spotted a Moratin aiming a bazooka at the tank.

"Red!" she screamed when the Moratin fired. The rocket hit the side of the tank where the fuel is, setting it aflame.

When he saw it gets hit, Red screamed and rush at the tank. When he got there, the top hatch burst open and out came Richardson with his whole body on fire as he jumped for the snow below. Beside him screaming, Red could hear the screams of the dying crewmates as they burned to death inside the flaming tank.

Red quickly reaches Richardson side and started patted him with snows as Red cried out, "Fluttershy!"

Half of Richardson's face is blacken by the flame and so were his uniform. His skin was redden in blisters and when Red tried to move Richardson legs, the skins came right of the legs, showing meat.

Red was horrified as Fluttershy reaches his side and reaches into her medical bag to pulls out substances to help Richardson.

Richardson was gasping for air as he looks at Red and muttered, "Avenge my brothers…" then his eyes drooped and it was close.

Red was about to ask Fluttershy if he's dead but much to his relief, she shook her head. "No." she replied firmly as she pour sulfur powder on Richardson wound. "He'll be okay. I just got to get him out of here." She then places her hoof on Red shoulder and said to him in a clear voice, which is somewhat fills with emotion. "You got to keep moving Red. Keep going and don't give up. You just need to remember what Richardson said."

Red looks at both of his friends and nodded slightly. He got back up, regroup his squad and join the other tanks and soldiers that are advancing towards the hill.

While moving, Applejack jumped on the ground behind a log when she noticed Rarity next to her picking off tiny bits of sticks that got stuck on her hair bun.

"You just got to be serious!" Applejack shouted angrily when a mortar blast in front of the log. "Now the time to be playing dillydallies with your hair again?"

"That's nonsense!" Rarity replied by dusting dirt off her shoulder. "I'd always been busy cleaning myself every-time we go into battle. A good soldier got to look fabulous when we claim a victory."

"Well then, hurry up and get moving!"

"Don't rush me!" Rarity said as she took out her hair and started brushing her hair. "Can't you see I'm brushing?"

Applejack groaned. Moments later, Discord landed next to Rarity and put on a confused look. "Well, I suppose that to keep moving, you've got to put a little finishing touch like this." He scoops up a handful of snow and dirt and slams it on Rarity now-cleaned hair.

"Discord!" Rarity screamed and leaps at him. Discord avoided her and let her chase him as he led her toward the hill while laughing the whole way.

Jasper landed next to Applejack and watches Rarity chasing Discord. He made a remark after they took off, "Well, that one hell of a way to get moving and saving energy."

"That's what friends are for." Applejack replied as she and Jasper got up and continues moving.

As far as an average pony eye could see, the hill is covered with trees and the slope is steep, impossible for the tanks to go up. The trees will makes it difficult for the foot soldiers to climbs but the only access to get to the top is a small path that lead upwards. But that too is covered with more bunkers and anti-tanks guns.

When the Allied soldiers got near the hill, they first noticed the defenses and have to halt in front of it. The Moratins were about to pull their triggers when, from the air, came 20mm, 55mm, and 105mm shells crashed into them, destroying concrete and metal, as well as ripping through flesh and bone.

When the barrage lifted, Ace was stunned then she shouted out, "What the fuck was that?!" then look up and spotted two AC-130s circling overhead, patting themselves for destroying those defenses.

While Ace was looking at the sky, Twilight came over and whispered to him, "Yeah, I forgot to tell you that friendly AC-130s were coming over."

"Well, thanks for the info." Ace says as he still looks at the sky. "I was about to charge them."

In front of them, Red waved and shouted at them. "What the hell are you waiting for? Let's keep going!"

Since the tanks can't proceed to the top of the hill, all they could do is take out any remaining Moratin units on the ground while the infantry takes care of the rest.

With Red, Ace and Twilight leading, the Allied storm to the top of the hill, dodging bullets and shells, using trees as cover and killing any Moratins that step in their way.

While the spiral tower getting closer, all Red could think of is all the men and women that had serve and died in this world, including those in his squad. Those who all gave their lives so this world can be free from evil.

Red and the others reach the top of the hill without haste and found a bunker with the tower on top of it. Next to him, Ace was about to issue an order when Moratins jump form their conceal trenches and fired at them.

Having to dash through their defenses to get to the door of the bunker, Ace got to the side of the door, fire at a Moratin who's huddled behind a sandbag then shouted at those to follow him.

Accompanied by Red and Twilight, Ace went through and, right as they went through the door, it shut behind them by a huge metal plate.

"Shit." Ace cursed under his breath when the door closes. "Look like we're on our own."

Before they could go down a stair that will led them to the darkness, Twilight, with fear growing inside her, said to those around her, "I got a bad feeling about this."

While the firefight goes on outside, Applejack saw the door close and said to Rarity next to her, "We got to help Twilight!" she begin to get up and flop back down when bullets passes over her, misses her by inches.

"Maybe we should finish the fight first." Rarity suggested after Applejack got back down.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "Uh huh."

By reaching the bottommost part of the stair and open a door in front of it, Red, Ace and Twilight enter a huge room with guns raised where a generator is creating electrical charges that is causing a vortex of a portal. The portal stands before them with light circling around it and dark orbs are floating in the center of the portal.

Twilight, amazed at this, wondered aloud, "I wonder what kind of magic does it takes to create something as powerful as this."

"It's not magic." Said a deep voice behind them. Hoofsteps could be heard as the three ponies looks behind them and saw a dark shadowy form of a pony, approaching them. When it step into the light provided by the portal, its show a dark-coated stallion with scars crossing his face. His dark and greened eyes are looking at them, fill with hatred and curiosity. He wears a full-outfit of a Nazi officer and wearing a Nazi beret.

"It's engineering." He finally said, switching eyes from the ponies to the portal. "It had took a considerable amount of time to fit an entire army through here but this is the last gateway to this world."

"General von Ermelle." Ace growled as he lower his gun to look at the battle-harden officer. His nemesis. "How nice it is to see you again."

"Ah, it's a pleasure to see you again. Of course, the pleasure is all mines, Captain Scott Mitchell or should I say 'Ace'."

Ace eyes were widen and was about to say something as Ermelle continue, this time to Red. "Wonderful! This time you've actually brought your little brother. It's been awhile since we last met at Genosis, isn't that right Matthew?"

Not only that Red was shocked, but Twilight is too who had now discovered her friends real name for the first time of her life.

"So that means," she stammered as she lower her rifle, "the pistol…"

Without allowing her to finish, Red interrupted her with excitement. "Now not the time to talk about it."

Ermelle face was lit up with delight when he looks at the shocked princess. "Is that Princess Twilight, I presume?." The look from Ermelle gave Twilight a chill as he continue, "Here she is, the Princess of Friendship fighting side-by-side with two of the most vicious criminals the universe had ever known. How surprising that one of the princesses of Equestria is in the battlefield even though she should be out spreading the magic of friendship. After all, Matthew here had put all of your friends into harm's way." Matthew scowls at him as Ermelle circle them to stand in front of the portal. "Your friends will soon hate each other after all the experiences they'd been through together."

Not wanting to listen to this anymore, Twilight took a step forward toward Ermelle as she spoke, "You're wrong. You don't know anything about me or my friends. We may have gone through everything that we've considered hellish but out friendship will be forever strong and there will be nothing that could stop us nor break us apart, even from some lowly pistol that we all thought was cursed."

When she said this, Red and Ace looks at each other then back at Twilight who continue by raising her voice, "Even if we die together, our friendship will be remember forevermore. You will never underestimate the power of friendship that we hold dears into us."

Not even taken aback by the princess speech, Ermelle murmured silently to himself then shook his head as he said to Twilight, "I may never estimate your friendship to others but you have forgotten that all of your friends are not here to help you, or to save you. You are alone, you are weak which could lead that you are helpless without your magic."

Outside of the bunker, the firefight ceased with the Allied as the victor. The only problem they still have to face is to figure out how to get inside the bunker.

After many conclusions, Jasper got an idea. They'll blow the door with all the explosives that they have. After putting the last wire in place, Jasper hold up a detonator in his hoof and waited for all the ponies to clear out the blast zone.

While waiting, Applejack patted Jasper shoulder and said to him in a curious voice. "Are ye sure ah this gonna work?"

"Of course!" Jasper exclaimed by pointing at the door. "With all the grenades, shells and rockets, I'm as hell that the damn door will go down."

"What if it didn't work as exactly as planned?"

"Then we're fucked." Jasper sighed with a sad face.

With everyone out of the blast zone and safely into cover, Jasper shouted before hitting the charges, "Fire in the hole!" then presses the button.

At first, nothing happened. Then, as if it was a nuke that hit the bunker, the ground shook and a huge explosion occur then black rises up form the bunker.

When it's cleared, the soldiers look up and were amazed that behind the cloud of dirt, the door was still intact!

"What the fuck!" Jasper shouted angrily when he noticed that the explosion didn't even make a dent of that door. "What the hell is that goddamn thing even made of?!"

"Uh, steel? Duh." Pinkie said matter-of-factly.

Jasper let out a yell then turns around and said as he walks away, "Where did I put my Stelia at?"

Inside the bunker when the explosion occurred, Red, Ace and Twilight felt the rumble as Ermelle chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Red asked him after Ermelle made his laugh.

Ermelle replied with a soft sigh. "Oh nothing. Your people will never know what they're up against. Attempting to break down the strongest metal in the known universe!"

"What do you want from this world?" Ace asked, firmly pressing against his gun as Ermelle look down at the ground. "That is an excellence question, Scott." He said as he looks back up at the three soldiers standing before him.

Something usual about his eyes though. It's not green anymore. It's now dark red and yellow as he said in a deep distrust voice, "Everything." He pushes out his right hoof at Red and he flew back against a wall behind him.

Without hesitating, Ace aim his L85 rifle at Ermelle but was a second too late when Ermelle lash out his left hoof, sending out bolt of lighting at Ace.

Ace took the hit and fell to the floor hard, twitching and turning as electric shocks flow through him.

As she watch this unfold, Twilight aim her gun at the general but her rifle flew out of her robotic hands and smash against a wall, breaking into pieces. After seeing her rifle shattered, Twilight turn her head and see Ermelle looking at her, smiling as he last out his right hoof at her, forcing Twilight backward.

Twilight scream as she slams against a wall and fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Twilight!" Red screams. He tried to get up but was brought back down by Ermelle hoof. While he was pinning him, Ermelle also zap Ace with his other hoof.

He sounded delighted as he attacks his captors. "Ah! You never know how much powerful I've become!" he let his hooves up, taking off the pressure on Red's body and the lighting on Ace.

Red was coughing with his back aching and Ace is breathing heavily as Ermelle continue, "The power… these energy were the one I have gotten at Genosis which allowed me to transform into full Sith. But if it wasn't for your commanding officer to take away your powers, then we've have another epic battle."

Red and Ace are now looking at him as Ermelle paced back and forth. "You see," he begins by tapping his chin, "I came to this world because it has so many energies that I could get and use it as a weapon. But the only error to this plan is you two. This world would be easy to conquer if it weren't for you to tell these diabolical to put up such a fight."

When Ermelle wasn't looking, Red let out a grunt as he use his horn to fire a beam at Ermelle but, with great reflexes, the general quickly turn and deflected it with his hoof as he said in a great voice, "Your magic is worthless compare to my superior being. Of course, here I am standing before you, my fateful companions, as I deliver a blow that could marks the beginning of the end. You will hear each other scream as you suffer." Right when he finish, Ermelle directed his hooves over their heads and flex it, which makes Red and Ace to press against their ears and scream in agony as if a sound is killing them from the inside.

While Ermelle is laughing manically, Twilight woke to the sounding of her comrades screaming in pain. She grunted and rubs the spot where her head hit the wall then open her eyes to see Red and Ace dying.

"No!" she screamed out then fought to get up to help them. With her body aching from all the pain she went through, Twilight thought of all the ponies that had died in this war. She thought those she had fought with; Allen, Garnett, Two-Bit, Risnerv, Grim, Angel, Marsh, Paige, LaRoach, Friar and Peter. And finally, she thought of all of her friends and what they all meant to her.

"No!" she screamed again, this time a light erupted from her broken horn.

Ermelle looks up to see Twilight floating with stars circling around her. Taken aback by this newfound power, Ermelle let go of his attack on Red and Ace and watches Twilight land on the ground, gently with purple beams shooting out from her new horn.

With fire in her eyes, Twilight announced as she aims her horn at him, "Now, you will feel the power of life!"

Ermelle smile a bit, spread his arm out and said to her, "Come and get me."

When she put her body into position, Twilight charge her horn so powerful that sparks started to shoot out form it and she fired a huge white beam straight at Ermelle.

At first, Ermelle tried to deflect the beam when he realized he couldn't and push against it so he won't fly back into the portal.

The powerful beam made Ermelle slides back a couple of inches toward the portal.

When it done, Twilight panted then fell to her knees, her horn is still sparkling from all the power she just shot at him.

Breathing heavily, Ermelle stood up then said to Twilight, impressed. "You have done well, my fair princess, for that I have underestimated you for being so powerful. For that, you have won and so does for this war." He turn around, facing toward the portal then he glance over his shoulder for the final time, "As for the brothers, we shall meet again soon in another world." Then, without anymore word, walk into the portal and disappeared. And so does the portal.

When it disappeared, the generator started making a screeching sound and smoke soon begin to come out of it as it is ready to explode.

Twilight got up and ran over to Red and Ace side to see if they're okay. Luckily, Red was starting to wake up and, when he opens his eyes, all he sees first is Twilight horn.

"Holy crap," he exclaimed as he got up. "Twilight, your horn!"

"Don't worry about that," says Twilight as she help Red to his hooves, "This place is gonna blow if we don't get out of here!"

They grab Ace body and started to make a run for the door when the generator exploded behind them.

Back outside, none of the Allied soldiers have any other ideas in mind when Pinkie had an idea.

"Open you stupid door!" she yell as she toss Boneless at the door. Right when the rubber chicken hit the door, the top of the bunker exploded, causing the tower to crumble to the ground, sending dirt and snow everywhere.

When the dust settled, Applejack cough then asked as she opens her eyes. "What the hay just happened?"

"Boneless did it!" Pinkie stated as everyone got up and examine the ground around them.

Peering into the cloud, Discord saw something and shouted, "Look like someone is coming!"

Everyone trained their guns at the shadowy form of two ponies dragging another pony. When the cloud gave way, Applejack realized who she is looking at.

"It's them!" she happily exclaimed, "They're alive!" she went to help Twilight and Red to put Ace on the ground and asked what happened.

"It's over," says Red as he look at Applejack, looking exhausted, "We've won."

When he heard this, Corrion who is standing next to them turn around and yelled out loud for everyone to hear, "You heard the man! It's over! We won!"

Everyone around them burst into cheer and patted each other in the back for completing their mission.

During the cheering, Ace sprung up and shouted, "What the fuck is going on?"

"We won, Scott. It's finally over." Red said then Ace punch him in the shoulder and replied back with an angry face. "I'd told you not to use my name!" he then shook and asked as he looks around, "Where's Ermelle?"

Red twitches as he answered with a shrug, "Looks like we have to fight another day again."

Twilight hugs her friends in a tearful moment and was glad all of her friends are alive, safe and sound. After the embrace, she walked over to Red and Ace. "We finally did it!" she exclaimed."

"Yeah, we did." Ace nodded.

Twilight then lend over and whisper loud enough for them to hear, "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Red and Ace couldn't help but smile as Twilight continue, "We have finally restore peace and harmony to this world."

"Yeah," Red said as his smile faded and he looks out at the horizon. "Finally."

 **AN: I really have nothing to say but I am really happy that the war is over. Sadly, this amazing story [not to you anyway] is finally coming to a close.**

 **This mission was actually base off against from the final mission of Medal of Honor: European Assault. It was difficult trying to get everything together but alas, I've made it. Sorry to those who liked Richardson but he did survived so don't worry.**

 **On top of that, this is seriously the longest and most battle-filled chapter I've written and it took me exactly 8 hours to put in on Microsoft Word.**

 **Anyway, this is NOT the last chapter however, but we shall see the sad ending of the story real soon. I promise you that it not as long as this one. So brace yourself. I shall thanks everyone for encouraging me to keep going [mainly my little brother] and finish this war.**

 **See you on the other side!**


	11. Farewell is Goodbye

Chapter 32

 _FAREWELL IS GOODBYE_

January 6th

Bastogne outskirt

0800 hours

The sound of the moving convoy on the road filled the air as birds chirped for the first time ever since the war on Equestria finally came to the end. All there is now is for the victorious army to move out and into the next dimension, and let the hard-won ponies to their devastated lands to recreate and rebuild.

Sitting on the hood of Venda next to the road, Red and Ace sat there quietly as Ace smoke a cigarette while Red stare at the ground, in deep thoughts.

Hating to see his brother in a condition like this, Ace look at the convoy then said to Red, "So no word on Peter?"

Red replied as he gave out a heavy sigh. "No, it's been seven days and I think Applejack got word on how Rainbow is doing. She's fine, I think, so that's good."

"Feel strange to lose doesn't it?" Ace asked as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"Just a bit." Red said then looks at a group of tanks rolling down the road as he exclaimed, "Ah… XXX Corp… if they've just been on time."

"Looks like we're still using a foolhardy plan from a foolhardy general. Montgomery's got greedy." Ace agreed then noticed Red looking over his shoulder, at his squad. They are standing near the first-aid tent, supposedly where Peter and Rainbow are kept at.

Red turns back around as Ace nudges him on the shoulder. "What's with you?"

Red thought for a moment as he exclaimed, "I'd told them."

"About what?"

Red replied back with a shrug. "Fluttershy… what she did and… what I did."

Ace got off the jeep as he said in an angry voice at Red. "Matt! I'd told you never to do that!"

"I know," said Red, guilty as he look at the ground again. "It's just… when…"

Without allowing him to finish, Ace spoke again, this time in a calm voice. "You should go check on Peter." Then turn and walk toward the convoy.

"Where are you going?" Red asked as Ace stop next to the road, turns and exclaimed with a shrug, "They're putting me to a different unit. I'll go where they'll go. So… I guess this is goodbye." He raised his hoof and wave slightly. "Farewell, brother." He jumps on a transport truck and Red watches him disappeared among the convoy.

"So long, Scott." He whispered then thought of something that he should do before he too departs.

He should go check on Peter.

* * *

Driving down the road, Red pulled over next to the aid tent and stops the jeep. When she heard a jeep pulled over, Rainbow walk out to see Red turning the jeep off, getting out and walk over to her.

She approached him with ease and said to him when she stops in front of him, "The doc… Gideon… wants to talk to you."

Red replied as he nodded. "So… you're okay?"

"Red…" begins to say with hate filling in her eyes. "This whole time… this whole time you knew exactly what happened to them…"

"Rainbow…" Red begins to explain but Rainbow shouted at him, "Don't you ever do that! Don't you come up and socially say my name like that! Not now…"

Red couldn't help it but feel a chill run down his spine as Rainbow continue, " Red, we will never fight together ever again." Without saying another word, Rainbow walk right past him, leaving Red there shocked.

The sound of the convoy and birds chirping filled the air as Red understand Rainbow feeling then walked into the aid tent, seeing the battalion surgeon putting some medicine away.

When he saw Red come in, Gideon stood up and said to him, "I've been waiting for you, Lieutenant, We need to speak privately."

"How's Peter?" Red asked, worrying.

"That's why we need to speak privately." Gideon told him then led him to one side as he said to him, this time with a sad and confused face, "Well, he doesn't know everything yet. He's mostly been in and out of it for a few days now."

Not understanding what he meant, Red exclaimed as he shook his head. "Wait wait, he doesn't know what doc?"

"Well," Gideon sighed before continuing, "He'd suffered some heavy trauma to his thoracic nerves… mostly lower that's uh… part of his spinal cord."

"Doc, what are you saying?"

Gideon look at Red in sorrow before he replied in a whisper as if something tragic had happened. "He's paralyzed."

Red felt shocked. He just couldn't move. Paralyzed. His best friend will be paralyzed for the rest of his life. That means…

"He doesn't know." Gideon said that causes Red to snap back to his thought. "I… I wanted him to find out from someone he trusted. He asked about you most of the time... when he's conscious."

When he finish, Red couldn't say anything. How could he tell him this? He got so choked up when he sees Peter sleeping on a cot not far from them.

Given by Gideon approval, Red walk over to peter and stand by his side. The last time they were together, they were arguing Red and his PTSD when he ran off to find Angel, before a mortar landed on the roof of the café they were in and the whole building collapsed on them.

Red remembers it too vividly. He thought that Peter had died that day. It was Rainbow who had saved him.

Emotion welled up inside him as Peter stir and open his eyes slowly. The first he'll see is his best friend. He smiled as he whispered out, "Gets… knock out a bunch… while I was… gone?"

Red replied back with a smile. "No."

"Who… who took my place?" Peter asked, wondering.

"Twilight for now." Red said which makes Peter chuckle, "Wow... Twilight! Miss Deathwish."

Trying to find a way to tell Peter the truth, Red said to him with tears forming in his eyes. "Uh… Peter? There's something we got to talk about."

"Is everyone okay?" Peter asked when he saw Red tears streaming down his face. "I heard about Friar… Is everyone else… okay?"

"Yeah, everyone is okay. It just…" Red said as he wipes his eyes then sighed. "It's you, Joe."

"What?"

"God…" Red look down at the ground then back up with his eyes filled of tears once again. "You're going home! You're going to see Erma and Carol. You're going to be a brother. A big brother. That building… ah… when it fell on us it… ah…"

Peter shook his head as he said, "Matt…"

"You're not going to walk again." Red said as he cried silently. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Peter didn't say anything. He was about to cry but then he shook it away as he look at the tent ceiling.

Red continues by holding one of his hoofs into his, "Look at me. Nothing… nothing will stop from finding you once this is all over. You're my best friend Peter."

"We're any of us… worth it?" Peter asked with Red sighing as his answer, "Yes."

Peter chuckle before going back to sleep, "At least… you learn something."

When Peter's gone, Red walk out of the tent and saw Twilight and Applejack standing in front of the entrance, waiting to hear the news about Peter.

"How is he?" Twilight asked but Red walk past here with a word, "Twilight, I can't."

He left them standing there, wondering what's wrong with Red.

On the urge of having an emotional breakdown, Red walked away from the area, from everyone else, and stops next to a tree. He sat down on the trunk and thought about Peter. While he is doing so, he reach for his holster and pulls out his .45, looking it over and cock the hammer.

"Now this looks familiar."

Red looks up and saw Grim walking over to him. "It's appeared we have much more in common than you've originally thought. "Bulletproof Red"! Reduce a tear at a lost of a friend." Grim said as he circle around the tree.

"It's not the same."

"Well that's the rub isn't it? It is the same. You stand, knee buckling from all the weight from your own guilt. You're a history repeating itself."

"I've still alive. There's more that I could say for you." Red challenge back but all Grim ever did is stop in front of him and smirk. "Are you?"

Over at the field tent, Applejack noticed that Red is talking to no one in particular.

The dead trooper continues at Red. "There's not much you could say about me or Fluttershy. She was weak and frail and crushed by the secret you've told her to keep."

"I was protecting her!" Red exclaimed but Grim is now yelling at him, "Is this is the same kind of protection you've offer to Angel or Peter? They trusted you Red! Much like the others did. But they aren't here either! Exactly how much your protection worth."

Not wanting to hear Grim anymore, Red closes his eyes and pleaded, "Stop… please."

"This is not your stop. There's more road ahead." Grim now lend closer to Red as he said to him. "So tell me, Matthew. You've made it through hell. How do you feel about… death?"

Red looks up at Grim. "I can handle death."

* * *

Holding his .45 in his right hoof, Red walk over to where his squad and that of 2nd squad was at when Applejack walks up next to him.

"Where are you're going with that bloody gun?" Applejack asked.

Red kept walking as he replied back without looking at her, "I'm surprise the higher didn't already given you an answer."

"Well, I think you should slow down!"

"Can't. People to see."

When he said this, Applejack stop on her track and watches Red climb on top of the hood of Venda then shouted while waving one of his arm in a circle, "Alright everyone, fall in on me! Let's move it!"

When he got everyone gather below him, including Rainbow who walked out of the aid tent to see what's going on, Red begin his speech. "Guys, its been eight months and there's not a man who haven't gave everything he had. Some gave more. We lost everyone we have known and fought with, including Peter."

Everyone was shocked but didn't say anything as Red continues, "The collapse broke part of his back, paralyzing him. He won't ever walk again, but he can talk. And you know what he said? He's asked me if anyone was worth it. We've all made mistakes. We've questioned what we're doing here and we've feel burdened by the cost of the fight, especially at the face of defeat. But I'm not retreating. I'll stand alongside with all of you. And I'm still standing right here. I'll walk us straight to the heart of the Moratin Empire if it asks of us and it probably will be."

He looks at Rainbow who is standing beside Fluttershy. "And I know some of you don't trust me right now."

Then he let his gaze rest on Applejack in front of him. "Some of you are clinging to superstitious. That end right now. I know some of you feel like we need something to blame. But it's just a goddamn gun!"

He turned around and chucks the gun as hard as he can at a field behind him. After he hears the gun clatter to the ground, he turns back around and looks at every single of one them.

"So here we are; brothers, sisters, saints… and as friends. Let's bring this fight to the Moratins."

When he finish, no one moved. The silence was broken when Jasper cleared his throat. "Well shit. You gonna use them… pretty word."

"I can't" says Rainbow as she turned around and walk away. When he saw her walk away, Red couldn't even more depressed then he got down from the jeep as Twilight went to him and exclaimed, "I thought you never to speeches?"

Red replied back with a shrug. "I'll probably never do it again. Not in a lifetime."

A couple of hours later, Red and Jasper are getting ready to board a helicopter that will take them to another world. The rest will stay even though they fought long and hard to free their world.

"Do you really have to go?" Twilight asked with tears in her eyes, crying to see her best friend go.

"I have to." Red said in a firm voice. "My life depends on it. I'm only carrying the fight for Peter."

"Group hug!" Pinkie exclaimed and everyone, with the exception of Rainbow, hugged Red and wishes him goodbyes.

After the embrace, Red nodded at Rainbow, who nodded back, then board the helicopter with Jasper.

The helicopter begin to rotate its rotor as Twilight shouted out at Red, "I'll never forget you!" then the helicopter gain speed and soon it was airborne as it begin it flight with out helicopters towards a huge portal in the sky that will take them out of the world.

As they fly into it and change back into human, Red smiled as he patted his .45 on his shoulder holster. He had learned one valuable lesson;

Friendship never dies.

 **AN: Congratulation for finishing the series! It took me a long time to get everything posted but it looks like we finally made it. This chapter is very sad and hates to see Peter go but the adventure continue for Red as he keeps fighting in the dimensional warfare. This chapter is also based from Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway ending so there will be no copyright issue sounds good?**

 **Well, that's it for today and I hope you enjoy the series!**

 **Wait! Before you go, it seems that I haven't posted 'The End' which means there is actually one more chapter to go. Keep a look out for it and I'll see you on the other side!**


	12. Epilouge

_EPILOUGE_

 _We finally did it. To a lot of my comrades, the war was finally over. Some of them went home. Most…didn't makes it and ponies usually asked me if I was a hero in the war. I thought about those we've left behind and those we died for freedom. They were the heroes. In fact, I actually fought with the company of heroes. They were the one that's made everything possible and the reason why this world is still free. We now know that we are not alone and we have other to rely on. They will always be there when Equestria needed help. The war had shaped Equestria and our future is bright as ever!_

 _I really don't know how I did survive but I did. So we all focus on our future together._

 _So what is it that makes a great soldier? It is his brain? Or his heart?_

 _-TWILIGHT SPARKLE-_

 **THE END**

 **AN: Thanks you for enjoying this series and I hope you all have a good day or sort.**

 **See you ever on the bright side!**


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